FB Discussions - Military spending

November 1, 2015 

T.R. Shashwath Classic Game Theory problem. If we *all* did it, it would be good for everyone. But if we did and our *enemies* didn't, it would be really bad for us, so it's "safer" to not. So, everyone is just that little bit more miserable...

Like · Reply · 2 · November 2, 2015 at 7:00am

Suraj Kumar Misleading meme. Tries to reductionistically separate the world into parts. It is like saying if the body stopped moving we can use all that energy to grow. But only by moving does the body even source energy! Civil society cannot exist without importing resources into one centralized place (called "city"). And to source those resources most people aren't going to voluntarily give up the forests and lands they depend on. Thus war is a very important tool for civil society to take and defend captured resources. Without war, civil society may collapse and that may be a good thing for some humans and lots of non humans.

Like · Reply · 1 · November 2, 2015 at 8:12am · Edited

Rahul Banerjee its wishful thinking. because unless capitalism collapses and greed, profit making and wealth accumulation are banned there is no way in which the military and the police can be banished.

Like · Reply · November 2, 2015 at 11:17am

Aparna Krishnan Personally I do not think even schooling serves any point, and conversely only harms diverse communities and diverse wisdoms. The meme is simply some interesting statistical detail, if it is correct. Capitalism, industrilisation, centralisation all need to collapse. And seeing the ehthusiam with which we are tearing apart the world, maybe it will. Only, when that day dawns I wonder if the local communities with have any resource left to build their spaces with.

Like · Reply · November 2, 2015 at 11:38am

Subir Shukla We couldn't. Money is not the issue. Every year some Rs.15,000 crores is left un-utilized by state education departments across India (As advisor to Govt of India for RtE, I was involved in sanctioning the money and monitoring its use - hence this information is verified and definitive). The state (i.e. those in power) has an incentive in half the people remaining in a situation where they can be exploited. As an education minister once told me,'if everyone is well educated, who will clean your toilets?' Let's not fall in the trap of such simplistic formulations.

Unlike · Reply · 1 · November 2, 2015 at 8:45pm