The peace dividend is a budget approach where military funding is reduced to increase funding for social services. It promotes economic strength and social justice, but some argue that increased military spending keeps nations safer.
The peace dividend is a national budget approach where funding for military purposes is reduced in the interest of lowering taxes or increasing funding for social services. Proponents of the peace dividend argue that it provides economic benefits by keeping nations strong in times of peace. Several nations have adopted this tactic, or the other way around, arguing that increased military spending keeps nations safer and promotes the development of new technologies with potential civilian applications.
Military spending tends to increase in times of war, often taking money out of social programs. The economy can grow as a result of increased demand for military hardware and other supplies, but when the country returns to peacetime, economic downturns can occur as people readjust. By establishing a peace dividend, where money is directed back into social programs, nations can address concerns about faltering economies by promoting social programs and supporting the population.
This concept is closely linked to the concept known as guns versus butter theory. Under this theory, a very simplified model of government spending, people assume that the government can spend money on military affairs or on developing goods. If the government allocates too much to the military, the production of goods will suffer and the population may suffer hardship. Conversely, spending too much on goods and not enough on the military can leave a country vulnerable to attack.
Military spending is a controversial topic around the world. Some organizations concerned with social justice believe it is excessive and have advocated a peace dividend, reallocating funds to serve the general public. The military budget can be complex and made more difficult to understand by the need for security, leading to obscurity when it comes to disclosures about how, when and where funds are used by the military. The presence of nebulous budgets for unknown purposes, often using unclear amounts of money, makes some economists and activists uncomfortable.
People also argue that the peace dividend, promoting economic strength and providing social services to more citizens, can have the effect of also protecting national security. Happy citizens with access to goods and services tend to be less likely to be involved in riots. In nations where social services are failing, unrest is common and can sometimes be violent as people engage in protests, sabotage and other activities in an attempt to resolve social and economic disparities.
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