Transforming the Permanent War Economy
by Greg Field, PAM Executive Director
We live in a time of Permanent War Economy. How do we escape the illogic
of a system in which wealth and power are concentrated in the hands
of the few, and an eroding industrial base has been made ever more dependent
for a dwindling handful of decent jobs on the indecent profit-taking
of the corporate weapons sector? There is a way out.
As people committed to building a world of peace with justice, we can
begin again to promote economic conversion: the transformation of our
military-industrial infrastructure toward fulfilling civilian needs
and a sustainable economy.
Economic conversion is not a new idea, and itıs time we reclaim that
direction for our movement. We can learn from prior efforts and build
the alliances that we will all need in the current political climate.
During the Civil War, in this nation's first industrial mobilization,
arms industries were left without a market at the war's end. Remington,
long known as a major arms manufacturer, was one of the first to turn
its machine tools to the new industrial economy, churning out Remington
typewriters and sewing machines. A small firm rented unused space in
the Colt arms factory in Connecticut to produce some of the country's
first mass-marketed phonographs.
If we promote a vision of using public investment to build an economy
based on growing industries such as renewable energy we can unleash
America's potential for good that has been quashed by the war economy.
We can build alliances with people who want skilled work, clean energy,
and a true peacetime economy.
Today, we need to recommit our efforts and our vision to building a
sustainable economy.
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Talk Index, Winter, 2004 - 2005