Not saying we shouldn’t make our own, just saying that making an entire industry out of it while the system still functions essentially as it has is a very, very bad idea.
We need a paradigm shift if we’re ever to see a different society for ourselves. Repeating the same things over and over again ensures that we’ll burn ourselves to the ground. And we shouldn’t give into war paranoia, either. Being reasonably prepared is one thing, dumping everything we have into it is entirely different.
Just as the Church should be separated from the State, I believe the Military and everything else related to it should be separated from the economy.
I repeat, we seriously need to think differently from now on. The old ways have brought us this mess.
I’m not sure you’re aware, but guns don’t grow on trees - you need an industry if you want to produce weapons.
I get your point though, the industry shouldn’t be a powerful fearmongering lobby that tells everyone we really need another war.
But I don’t think you can easily combine the push for strategic autonomy and European self-sufficiency with revamping our entire economic system. There is a lot of industries where focus on profit has ruined the market, like healthcare, housing and in lesser extent education. You’re totally right, it would be better if the European defence industry isn’t driven by profits, but it’d be wiser not to delay until we have a system that works.
That’s, indeed, my point. And, no, an industry in the sense in which the post and article mean it, in the sense in which it is understood in contemporary economics, is not needed.
What is needed is focused effort. It’s very easy to forget that things don’t actually cost money, things cost resources and energy. Those don’t have an intrinsic monetary value, the price tag is 100% arbitrary and made up. Otherwise, existing in the Universe would require paying taxes in money, and last time I checked, we’re the only biological doofuses who do that. And we do it to ourselves, no less.
Things can be done without money, and we need to remember that. Humanity has been doing stuff without money for almost literally aeons before someone thought it would be a good idea to dream that up.
As for getting things rolling, let’s not forget that muskets still work just fine with a bit of maintenance, and they’re hundreds of years old at this point. Guns last a long, long time, it’s just that the military industrial complex can’t function if people realise that and don’t treat them as perishables. And I doubt we’ve dismantled all guns pre-2000, for instance. And there are plenty of easy-to-make, DIY-type stuff which have been unfortunately demonstrated to be very effective several times over.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And, yes, it’s tough to shift the system, nobody said it’d be all rainbows and roses. But it sure as hell would be a lot easier if everyone started pushing.
Not saying we shouldn’t make our own, just saying that making an entire industry out of it while the system still functions essentially as it has is a very, very bad idea.
We need a paradigm shift if we’re ever to see a different society for ourselves. Repeating the same things over and over again ensures that we’ll burn ourselves to the ground. And we shouldn’t give into war paranoia, either. Being reasonably prepared is one thing, dumping everything we have into it is entirely different.
Just as the Church should be separated from the State, I believe the Military and everything else related to it should be separated from the economy.
I repeat, we seriously need to think differently from now on. The old ways have brought us this mess.
I’m not sure you’re aware, but guns don’t grow on trees - you need an industry if you want to produce weapons.
I get your point though, the industry shouldn’t be a powerful fearmongering lobby that tells everyone we really need another war.
But I don’t think you can easily combine the push for strategic autonomy and European self-sufficiency with revamping our entire economic system. There is a lot of industries where focus on profit has ruined the market, like healthcare, housing and in lesser extent education. You’re totally right, it would be better if the European defence industry isn’t driven by profits, but it’d be wiser not to delay until we have a system that works.
That’s, indeed, my point. And, no, an industry in the sense in which the post and article mean it, in the sense in which it is understood in contemporary economics, is not needed.
What is needed is focused effort. It’s very easy to forget that things don’t actually cost money, things cost resources and energy. Those don’t have an intrinsic monetary value, the price tag is 100% arbitrary and made up. Otherwise, existing in the Universe would require paying taxes in money, and last time I checked, we’re the only biological doofuses who do that. And we do it to ourselves, no less.
Things can be done without money, and we need to remember that. Humanity has been doing stuff without money for almost literally aeons before someone thought it would be a good idea to dream that up.
As for getting things rolling, let’s not forget that muskets still work just fine with a bit of maintenance, and they’re hundreds of years old at this point. Guns last a long, long time, it’s just that the military industrial complex can’t function if people realise that and don’t treat them as perishables. And I doubt we’ve dismantled all guns pre-2000, for instance. And there are plenty of easy-to-make, DIY-type stuff which have been unfortunately demonstrated to be very effective several times over.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And, yes, it’s tough to shift the system, nobody said it’d be all rainbows and roses. But it sure as hell would be a lot easier if everyone started pushing.