Building a peace-industrial complex

Therefore it is necessary to mobilize businesses for peaceful interests.

As to the fears that many people have for their defence-related jobs, they just want employment. Therefore, the proposed Peace-Industrial Complex would need to campaign to ensure that as defence jobs declined, there was a compensatory rise in the non-defence employment sector (health, education, welfare and public transport are all very labour intensive)

A campaign for a Peace-Industrial Complex will require some new ways of thinking, such as new coalition thinking. It will require peace groups to be in a dialogue with business interests and business councils such as institutes of company directors.

If we redefine "national security" from just a focus on military matters to also include economic and social indicators, then a Peace-Industrial Complex would also attract support from welfare and anti-poverty groups.

The growing popular action on climate change has already generated some new coalitions (such as the insurance industry being aware of the economic impact of climate change). We could finance environmental programmes via the conversion of military expenditure to environmental protection.

Finally, the economics profession could be brought into the debate by being challenged to think about how US$1.7Trillion is being so badly spent each year: what does such a high level of military expenditure do to distort the rest of the economy?

To conclude, the campaign for a Peace-Industrial Complex will require our creating a holistic vision of future society to inspire a wide variety of organizations, companies and individuals to work together.