BIGGEST, MOST PROFITABLE BUSINESS IN HISTORY.
In an article, "The Gold War and World Poverty,” published in the November issue of Africa. and the World, Bertrand Russéll offers the following explanation of why- every world crisis brings a boom to the stock market:
valued almost ten years ago at 160 billion dollars. This makes the US Defence Department the world's largest organisation.
The Pentagon owns millions of acres of land, including 3e million acres in the United States and nearly S-million acres if. foreign countries.
The Pentagon building is 80 ‘large that the Capitol, which | seats the United States Government, could be swallowed in any one of the five main segments of the Pentagon. 4 The 1962 ‘budget involved 53 billion dollars for arms, exclus sive of the military. space programme,
Thus, : by 1962, 63 cents ‘out ‘of every dollar were spent on” appropriations for arma and space expenditure,
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A further six cents was spent on veteran services and 80 per cent of interest payments were for military debts.
Seventy-seven cents out of every 100 are spent on past wars, the Cold War and preparations for future war.
The billions of dollars thus funnelled into the pockets of the military in the United States provide the Pentagon with economic power affecting every aspect of American life and, therefore, of the lives of mankind,
Military assets in the United States are three times as great as the combined assets of United States Steel, American Telephone and Telegraph, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, General Motors and Standard Oil of New Jersey.
The employees of the Defence Department are triple’ the number of all those of these great corporations.
This immense world concentration of power and wealth is closely connected to large industry in the United States,
The billions of dollars in contracts are awarded. by the Pentagon and fulfilled by large industry, _
In 1960, 21 billion dollars were spent for the procurement of military goods, Ten corporations received seven-and=a-half billion dollars, three corporations received one billion dollars each and two others 900 million dollars,
This means that these immensely powerful corporations must cultivate military personnel in the United States.
The result is that 1,400 retired officers above the rank of Major are employed by the top corporations which divide the 21 billion dollars.
This list includes 261 generals or officers of flag rank.
The company with the largest contracts, General Dynamics, has on its payroll 187 retired officers, 27 generals and admirals and a former Secretary of the Army.
IT IS CLEAR THAT AMERICAN POLICY AND THE ARMS RACE SERVE A VAST POWER COMPLEX INTERCONNECTED AND INTERESTED IN THE PERPETUATION OF JHE ARMS RACE FOR ITS OWN SAKE,
. This concentration of power spreads throughout the economy: of the United States,
Sub--contracts awarded by war contractors involve every city of any size. The jobs at stake involve millions of people... Nearly
four million people work for the Defence Department alone.
Their payroll is 12 billion dollars, or twice that of the aytomobile industry of the United States.
A further four million people are employed directly in arms industries.
This:means that over eight million Americans depend for their jobs on the military establishment.
In certain areas of the United States the percentage is far higher. Missile production accounts for 82 per cent of all manufacturing jobs-in San Diego, California, 72 per cent in Wichita, Kansas, and 53 per cent in Seattle, Washington.
. Defence contracts alone account for 30 per cent of all manufacturing employment in Kansas, Washington, New Mexico, California and Connecticut. Arms industries spend five billion dollars annually in California alone. In Los Angeles, over half the jobs depend directly or indirectly on arms expenditure.
IN THE UNITED STATES -AS -A- WHOLE, NEARLY 50 PER CENT OF ALL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY HINGES UPON MILITARY SPENDING,
- The economic investment in the arms race, in the Cold War, in the perpetuation..of exploitation and in retaining the relationship which -now exists between impoverished countries and wealthy ones is overwhelming.
Every food store, every petrol [gasoline] station, requires the perpetuation of war production. The meaning of this is that the United States cannot afford peacé unless it is prepared for the most profound..transformation of its society.
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