Economic Choices: Swords or Plowshares?

Ron Smith

Chapter 8 in Military Economics, 2009, pp 159-171 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Military expenditures have opportunity costs: the other activities that are given up to provide the military resources. In the literature, this is often referred to as the choice between guns or butter or swords and plowshares. The latter choice comes from the Bible. Isiah 2:4 says ‘They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.’ However, the less quoted, Joel 3:10 says ‘Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong”.’

Keywords: Government Expenditure; Foreign Debt; Military Expenditure; Military Spending; Defence Advance Research Project Agency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-24467-2_8

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DOI: 10.1057/9780230244672_8

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