Difference between revisions of "Guns or butter"
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(Re,pve Iser:Conservative's definition that its all communist choice of government spending between military and social programs. it's not. It's between govt military spending and private sector consumer consumtion.) |
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| − | The '''guns or butter''' is an economic concept that describes government allocation to defense spending versus | + | The '''guns or butter''' is an economic concept that describes government allocation to defense spending versus the sacrifices [[consumer]]s must make in the [[private sector]] in wartime. The concept originated in the [[American]] [[Congress]] during [[World War I]] in a debate over butyric acid (from which [[butter]] gets its name) which should be rationed or restricted for [[civilian]] consumption in order to produce explosives. |
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The phrase '''guns and butter''' refers to a government [[policy]] that tries to maintain [[civilian]] [[living standards]] without demanding sacrifices or alarming and creating resistance among the civilian [[population]]. | The phrase '''guns and butter''' refers to a government [[policy]] that tries to maintain [[civilian]] [[living standards]] without demanding sacrifices or alarming and creating resistance among the civilian [[population]]. | ||
Revision as of 08:28, June 21, 2026
The guns or butter is an economic concept that describes government allocation to defense spending versus the sacrifices consumers must make in the private sector in wartime. The concept originated in the American Congress during World War I in a debate over butyric acid (from which butter gets its name) which should be rationed or restricted for civilian consumption in order to produce explosives. The phrase guns and butter refers to a government policy that tries to maintain civilian living standards without demanding sacrifices or alarming and creating resistance among the civilian population.
In two world wars the United States had a guns or butter policy that imposed rationing on gasoline and many other consumer goods; during the Vietnam war of the 1960s the United States Congress had a guns and butter policy without tax increases whileat the same time relying on heavy government borrowing to pay for the war. This eventually led to the end of the Bretton Woods system, the dollars link to gold, and high inflation in the 1970s.
In the 1980s the Reagan administration argued that America could again have prosperity while funding a large military budget.[1]
External links
- Guns Versus Butter Model, Quickonomics.com
- Strategic Oil Reserve Nears Collapse… US Must Choose: Guns or Butter, Larry Johnson, Jun 20, 2026
References
- ↑ Reagan's guns and butter, By WITH ANALYSIS FROM MONITOR CORRESPONDENTS AROUND THE WORLD EDITED BY HILARY DEVRIES, March 05, 1981. csmonitor.com
