The War Economy

Professor Seymour Melman

Columbia University

Lectures (Monday) and discussions (Wednesday) are supplemented by required readings, periodic short quizzes, a book critique assignment, and a final examination.



Texts:

     S. Melman, After Capitalism, Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.

     ________, The Permanent War Economy, 1974.

     ________, ed., The War Economy of the U.S., 1971 (on reserve).

     ________, Profits Without Production, 1987.



In the reading list below, these texts are identified with abbreviations and chapter numbers.



Topics and Required Readings

Asterisked readings are required. Required readings from works other than After Capitalism are assembled in the Readings Collection for this course.

1. WAR ECONOMY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF STATE CAPITALISM: THE COLD WAR AND AFTER

* AC 1,2

* B. Mitchell, Depression Decade, chs. 1,11

* S. Turkel, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression, p.129-147,247-71, 293-313

* PWE 1

* WEUS 2,3,6,7




2. THE ARMS RACE

* AC 4

* P. Noel-Baker, The Arms Race, chs. 1,2,6,7,45

* A. Waskow, "The Evolution of American Military Doctrine," in S. Melman, ed., Disarmament, its Politics and Economics

* H. York, Race to Oblivion, pp 9-14, chs. 3,4,12

* R. Jungk, Brighter than 1,000 Suns, "The Franck Report," pp. 334-360




3. MICROECONOMICS OF WAR ECONOMY

* PWE 2

* WEUS 8, 10, 11, 12, 13

* A.E. Fitzgerald, The High Priests of Waste, chs. 1,2,3

* M. Weidenbaum, The Economics of Peacetime Defense, pp 140-148

*J.R. Fox, Arming America, chs., 2,5,13; chs. 9-11, 20-23 optional





4. MACROECONOMICS OF WAR ECONOMY

* AC pp. 52-87

* PWE 3

* PWP 5, 8

* WEUS 14, 17, 19

*J.W. Fulbright, "Total Federal Budget Outlays By Functions…" in The Military Budget and National Economic Priorities, Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Economy in Government of the Joint Economic Committee, 91st Congress, 1st Session, June 1969, Part I, pp.88-103





5. CONSEQUENCES OF WAR ECONOMY FOR CIVILIAN INDUSTRY

* AC pp. 87-97

* PWE 4

* PWP 9, 10

* WEUS 9, 15

* David F. Noble, Forces of Production, pp. 143-192

* W.N. Leonard, "Research and Development in Industrial Growth," The Journal of Political Economy, March-April 1971

* Szymanski, "Military Spending and Economic Stagnation," American Journal of Sociology, July 1973; and Comments, July 1974





6. CONSEQUENCES OF WAR ECONOMY FOR CIVILIAN ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

* AC 5

* J. Rynn,"Why Manufacturing Matters"

* PWE 5

* PWP 12

* WEUS 16, 22, 24

* S. Melman, What Else is There to Do?, pp. 3-6, 76-82





7. THE LESSON OF SOVIET RUSSIA

* AC 6

* S.H. Cohen, Declining Soviet Capital Productivity and the Soviet Military Industrial Complex.

This paper appeared as an appendix to U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament
Agency, World Military Expenditure and Arms Transfers, 1972-1982 (April 1984),
pp 109-116




8. THE VIETNAM WAR AS A MODEL FOR THE DYNAMICS OF WAR ECONOMY AND ITS MILITARY CONSEQUENCES

* WEUS 20, 21, 23

*PWE 10

* Pentagon Papers (New York Times edition); read the chapters comprising the articles prepared by the Times staff on the Pentagon Papers documents

* N. Chomsky, American Power and the New Mandarins, pp. 309-358

* W.D. Hartung, And Weapons for All, chs. 5,6,7



ON LIMITS OF MILITARY POWER

* PWE 7

*PWP 11




9. ALTERNATIVE UNPLANNED AND DESIGNED RESPONSES TO STATE CAPITALISM AND WAR ECONOMY

* AC 9, 10, 11

* R.P. Smith, "Military Expenditure and Capitalism," Cambridge Journal of Economics, March 1977




10-11. ARMS CONTROL OR DISARMAMENT: ALTERNATIVES FOR SECURITY POLICIES, MILITARY FORCES AND BUDGETS

* Blueprint for the Peace Race: Outline of Basic Provisions of a Treaty on General and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World. U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, 1962

* S. Melman, ed., Disarmament, Its Politics and Economics, pp. 32-47, 99-120, 212-237

* S. Melman, Inspection for Disarmament, The General Report

* C.D. Blacker, J. Duffy, International Arms Control, chs. 6, 9, 10, 219-225

* P. Noel-Baker, The Arms Race, parts 3, 4; ch. 45

*S. Melman, Pentagon Capitalism. Appendix A, B, C



12. OPTIONS FOR ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION

* AC 12, conclusion

* PWE 8

* PWP 14

* Cabinet Coordinating Committee on Economic Planning for the End of Vietnam Hostilities, report to the President, in the Economic Report of the President, Jan 1969, pp. 181-211



13. CONVERTIBILITY OF WAR ECONOMY

* J. Feldman, The Conversion of Defense Engineers' Skills

* PWE 8

* PWP 13

* WEUS 26, 27, 32

* A. Markusen, J. Yudken, Dismantling the Cold War Economy, 1992, chs. 8, 9



Books for Evaluation

Select one book. Write a 10-page typed critique/evaluation (NOT A SUMMARY OF CONTENT).



The Boston Study Group, The Price of Defense

J. Gorgol, The Military-Industrial Firm

A. Yarmolinsky, The Military Establishment

R. Kaufman, The War Profiteers

R. McNamara, The Essence of Security

A. Markusen, J. Yudken, Dismantling the Cold War Economy

R. Barnet, Intervention and Revolution

H. York, Race to Oblivion

H. Magdoff, The Age of Imperialism

D. Horowitz, ed., Corporations and the Cold War

B. Russett, What Price Vigilance?

J. Gansler, The Defense Economy

M.T. Klare, War Without End

A.C. Enthoven, K.W. Smith, How Much is Enough?

A.E. Fitzgerald, The High Priests of Waste; The Pentagonists

A. Waskow, The Limits of Defense

F. Schurmann, The Logic of World Power

N. Chomsky, For Reasons of State

The Pentagon Papers (Sen. Gravel Edition; Beacon Press), v. 5

M. Weidenbaum, The Economics of Peacetime Defense

J.R. Fox, Arming America

R. Barnet, The Roots of War

B. Mitchell, Depression Decade

N. Chomsky, E.S. Herman, The Political Economy of Human Rights, v. 1

    (The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism)
F. Snepp, Decent Interval

R.W. Stevens, Vain Hopes, Grim Realities

J. Fallows, National Defense

N. Ball, M. Leitenberg, The Structure of the Defense Industry

E.L. King, The Death of the Army




Grading



Five short quizzes covering lectures and readings will be given

No grades of incomplete or make-up exams are given in this course.

The final grade will be based on: 4 best quiz scores 40%

Book critique 20%

Final Exam 40%




Major Bibliographies

Disarmament, A Selected Bibliography, 1967-72, E-73, I, 14 (United Nations)


M. Leitenberg, Materials Prepared in Analysis and in Support of the Proposal--Disarmament and Development, 1977; in the Columbia College Library


S.P. Williams, Disarmament and Conversion, A Selected Bibliography, 1964; School of International Affairs Library, Columbia University.


C. Wong, Economic Consequences of Armament and Disarmament (A Bibliography), Center for the Study of Armament and Disarmament, California State University, Los Angeles, CA 90032



Supplementary Readings, Not Required

1. WAR ECONOMY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF STATE CAPITALISM: THE COLD WAR AND AFTER

-L.V. Chandler, America's Great Depression, 1929-1941

-W.E. Leuchtenberg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal

-D.A. Shannon, ed. The Great Depression

-P. Baran, P. Sweezy, Monopoly Capital




2. THE ARMS RACE

-C. Gray, "The Arms Race Phenomenon," World Politics, Oct. 1971; also in R. Head,

E. Rokke, eds., American Defense Policy

- H. York, Arms Control, Readings from Scientific America, part I

- SIPRI Yearbooks, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute




3. MICROECONOMICS OF WAR ECONOMY

- L. Rodberg, E. Shearer, eds., The Pentagon Watchers, part III

- C. Merton Tyrelle, Pentagon Partners: The New Nobility

- M. Peck, F. Scherer, The Weapons Acquisition Process

- R. Kaufman, The War Profiteers

- J. Gorgol, The Military-Industrial Firm

- J. Gansler, The Defense Economy




4. MACROECONOMICS OF WAR ECONOMY

- M. Weidenbaum, The Economics of Peacetime Defense, chs. 1-3

- W. Adams, "The Military Industrial Complex and the New Industrial State," American Economic Review, May 1968.

- G. Burck, "The Guns, Butterand Then Some Economy," Fortune, Oct. 1965

- B. Russett, What Price Vigilance?

- J. Gansler, The Defense Economy




5. CONSEQUENCES OF WAR ECONOMY FOR CIVILIAN INDUSTRY

- D. Price, The Scientific Estate

- M. Weidenbaum, The Economics of Peacetime Defense, ch. 10

- N. Boretsky, U.S. Technology: Trends and Policy Issues, chs. 2,3




6. CONSEQUENCES OF WAR ECONOMY FOR CIVILIAN ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

- "Federal Spending: The North's Loss is the Sunbelt's Gain," National Journal, June 26, 1976

- K. Nelson, ed., The Impact of War on American Life

- K.E. Boulding, The War Industry as a Sector of the Economy

- U.S. Dept. of Defense (Controller), The Economics of Defense Spending, July 1972

- Y. Peri, A. Newbach, The Military-Industrial Complex in Israel, 1985




7. THE LESSON OF SOVIET RUSSIA

- J. Cooper, The Soviet Defense Industry: Conversion and Economic Reform




8. THE VIETNAM WAR AS A MODEL FOR THE DYNAMICS OF WAR ECONOMY AND ITS MILITARY CONSEQUENCES

- M. Raskin, B. Fall, eds., The Vietnam Reader

- S. Melman, ed., In the Name of America

- U.S. Senate, The Impact of the War in Southeast Asia on the U.S. Economy, April 1970

- Stanford Biology Study Group, the Destruction of Indochina




9. ALTERNATIVE UNPLANNED AND DESIGNED RESPONSES TO STATE CAPITALISM AND WAR ECONOMY

- P.Baran, P. Sweezy. Monopoly Capital




10-11. ARMS CONTROL OR DISARMAMENT: ALTERNATIVES FOR SECURITY POLICIES, MILITARY FORCES AND BUDGETS

- D.G. Brennan, ed., Arms Control, Disarmament, and National Security, ch. 1

- H. York, Race to Oblivion

- H. York, "Military Technology and National Security," Scientific American, August 1969

- R. McNamara, The Essence of Security

- L. Bloomfield, A. Liess, Controlling Small Wars




12. OPTIONS FOR ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION

- E. Benoit, K. Boulding, eds., Disarmament and the Economy

- Engineers Joint Council, The Nation's Engineering Research Needs, 1965-85




13. CONVERTIBILITY OF WAR ECONOMY

- B. Udis, ed. Adjustments of the U.S. Economy to Reductions in Military Spending, ch. 12 (U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency)

- S. Melman, ed., Conversion of Industry from a Military to Civilian Economy (a series of books; Praeger)

- U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, The Economic Impact of Reductions in Defense Spending

- R. Arousan, "Effect of Federal Spending on Scientists and Engineers," Monthly Labor Review, Oct 1970

-J.R. Cambern, D.A. Newton, "Skill Transfers: Can Defense Workers Adapt to Civilian Operations?" Monthly Labor Review, June 1969, pp. 21-25