Executive Pay: The Curious Case of Carlos Ghosn’s Arrest
February 12, 2025
Bidding is an essential and vital aspect of project management. Not only do the organizations and the project managers have to engage with the prospective clients by specifying at what rates they would undertake the project but also would need to be aware of how much their competitors are bidding though they might not have […]
Loose or Tight Monetary Policies ? The debate over whether central banks around the world must pursue loose monetary policies or tight monetary policies has become sharp in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Loose monetary policy refers to the practice of central banks keeping interest rates low, stimulating the economy as banks would […]
Setting up International Trade Mechanisms involves inter disciplinary processes including Finance, Logistics, Taxation and Supply Chain disciplines. Every Business Manager would need to know the nuances of the trade even though he may or may not be involved in the micro management of the processes. Any Import or Export entails commercial transaction and payment. When […]
Modern day inventory is managed by sophisticated system applications that are designed to manage complex inventory plans and to a large extent contain processes that initiate and streamline the operations and inventory management. In the wake of improvements in the communication technology, companies are deploying one single ERP system across all factories, offices, departments and […]
Inventory is a necessary evil that every organization would have to maintain for various purposes. Optimum inventory management is the goal of every inventory planner. Over inventory or under inventory both cause financial impact and health of the business as well as effect business opportunities. Inventory holding is resorted to by organizations as hedge against […]
The recent India Pakistan skirmishes have brought the issue of a nuclear Armageddon to the forefront of international politics. The news channels in both countries, as well as the international media, have been discussing the possibility of the situation escalating into an all-out nuclear war. The question of the futility of such a war has also been raised since it would bring nothing but destruction to both sides.
During these debates, the question of the futility of nuclear weapons was raised many times. Many people believe that the amount of money being spent on nuclear weapons is simply going down the drain. Under normal circumstances, these weapons are never really going to be used. Hence, both India and Pakistan, as well as other countries of the world, would be better off if they simply stopped spending money on nuclear weapons.
In this article, we will have a closer look at the economics of nuclear weapons in order to determine whether the money which is spent on acquiring nuclear weapons can actually be considered to be wasted.
The real fact is that nuclear weapons are a relatively cheaper way for smaller states to defend themselves against much larger aggressor states. Conventional warfare is symmetrical. This means that to counter a certain number of troops on the ground or fighter jets in the air, an army has to retaliate with almost equal strength. The problem with smaller countries is that sometimes it is not economically feasible for them to compete with much larger nations. This is where nuclear weapons come to the rescue. They act as a deterrent to the aggressor power. Some examples of such deterrence have been listed:
The bottom line is that nuclear weapons act as a very credible deterrence against foreign invasion. Up until now, there has been no invasion of a nuclear-armed state. The aggressor powers will always be concerned that if the smaller power is backed into a corner, it could unleash a nuclear Armageddon.
Hence, if one comes to think of it, the money spent on nuclear weapons makes complete sense. It is true that billions of dollars are being spent on weapons that will never be used. However, these weapons act as an insurance policy. They are preventive measures against foreign aggression. If these billions of dollars were not spent on the creation of nuclear weapons, the world would have fought many more wars, and trillions of dollars would have been spent. Also, enormous loss of life and human suffering would have been inflicted on the planet. Smaller states are therefore better off, spending money and buying a nuclear insurance policy which all but eliminates the chances of a conventional war.
The bottom line is that nuclear proliferation may not be a bad thing. Ironically, it may act as a deterrent and bring peace and stability to the world. The current status quo wherein only some states are nuclear-armed works in favour of those states as it enables them to dominate others. Once again ironically, the absence of nuclear arms leads to warfare causing wastage of precious economic resources and human life.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *