Guns and Butter
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
We all learned in econ-101 the guns vs. butter model as a classic example of the production possibility curve. It shows how a nation would choose to spend its resources: defense vs. domestic civilian spending. What pushes guns over butter? Public fear, either manufactured or real.
Public fear is easily manipulated, especially in today’s world of media consolidation. Who doesn’t want security? who doesn’t want those terrorists brought to justice and their nests demolished? Who could argue that president’s job is to ensure the security of the nation? so the argument for guns is a no-brainer.
Butter, on the other hand, is generally perceived as luxury and privilege. Anyone who talks too much about universal healthcare, unemployment protection, education, and the like is automatically accused of being fiscally irresponsible at best and a socialist at worst.
Today’s election, as every other one, is about guns and butter. Given the fear climate of the post 9-11, guns win every time. How’s this related to books? Education - schools and libraries - all belong to the “butter” category. Ignoring them, however, will require more guns in the future. So in the long run, they will all belong to the “guns” category as we need to fight our way for resources instead of using them wisely.
For a current discussion on the cost of wars, see Joseph Stiglitz’s The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict (ISBN: 978-0393067019). Guns cost too much…