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The Pros And Cons Of The Military Industrial Complex

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In the shadows of every conflict around the world, the Military Industrial Complex can be found. First coined by President Eisenhower in 1961, the term Military Industrial Complex represents the privatized weapons industry in the United States. Also in his 1961 speech, Eisenhower warned against the corruption and dangers of the system. One of these dangers is lobbying, which occurs when a company hires a person to convince and persuade members of Congress to pass a bill in the company's favor. Lobbying is very common inside the Military Industrial Complex, and it has created a system called the Iron Triangle. It has also brought corruption inside Congress and within these companies. Since the merging of fifty-to-five companies in 1993, it has …show more content…

He warns of the impulse to make it easy for people today, rather than spending to invest into the future. The Military Industrial Complex takes away money for the development of the United States and investment into the future. The Military Industrial Complex has given power to private military companies in society and around the world, and there is no regulation for these companies. “The near-total lack of oversight allowed these companies to flourish; further, the United States military continued to contract with these firms, ensuring their consistently high revenues over long periods,” (Cartiglia). The lack of supervision and monitoring of these companies has allowed them to flourish and make huge profits off of the contracts from the government. Due to the high demand and only a few suppliers, it has allowed them to become monopolies and the government has no other choice than to continue contracting these firms. This also creates a problem with the companies, as the companies would want to have conflict overseas to make the largest amount of profit possible, which leads to lobbying for bills to be passed in their …show more content…

For example, between the time the Berlin wall fell in 1989 and 1992, 300,000 jobs out of 3,000,000 were lost in this industry, which contributed directly to the recession experienced around that time,”(Cartiglia). The Military Industrial Complex, outside of the budget, has a large impact on the United States economy. The Berlin Wall conflict showed the close relationship between the two parts of society. It is a great example because it shows how without the conflict for these companies to profit off of, there will be a massive job loss. It also impacts the overall economy, with the recession experienced around the time the Berlin Wall fell directly correlated to the Military Industrial Complex. The overall economy and world are directly correlated to the Military Industrial Complex, and it holds power in society that many people do not know about. In 1961, President Eisenhower gave a warning about the Military Industrial Complex, and he was correct, as, since the end of the Cold War, it has created lobbying, taken money from future domestic issues, and empowered people outside of the

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