Defence spending – how much should nations spend?

Ok, never really done this blog thing before, so as a nice gentle introduction, I have a serious question! :O)

I've been asked to consider why nations choose to spend money on defence (ie the military and its supporting services), and what might affect the level of that expenditure.

I've got lots of ideas already, but i'm lacking in arguments AGAINST spending on defence. So, i'm interested in your views – why shouldn't countries spend on defence, or at least why should they spend much less than they do now?

I do already have things such as the public spending trade-off between defence/health/education/etc, so ideally looking for some other factors…

I know there are people who are totally anti-war and things like that, but I can't really see what argument they might have for having no spending on defence – thats why I need your input!

Comments gratefully received! :O)

David

: 25 Apr 2005 00:28 |  Comments (7) |  Close comments |  Report a problem