Publication Date
6-1-2024
Abstract
Research within the natural and social sciences increasingly concludes that business as usual—economic growth—is leading to significant ecological disruption. Additionally, scholars have identified militaries as a significant driver of environmental degradation. Typically, these two social institutions are understood as being separate, but operating in relation, to each other. In this article, we focus on the interrelation and integration of the military and the economy through the rise of the military-industrial complex in order to illuminate the underlying logic that amplifies the environmental impacts of these institutions. More specifically, we assess how monopoly capital’s dynamics influence the development of military weapons systems, leading to increased environmental change. Our analysis highlights the growing significance of private contractors in developing weapons systems and how this has institutionalized capitalist market dynamics and creative destruction within weapons systems innovation. As a result, planned obsolescence has become a central component increasing the demands on the environment and the overall production of social and ecological waste in relation to the military-industrial complex.
First Page
793
Recommended Citation
Daniel Auerbach & Brett Clark, Monopoly Capital, Militarism, and Environmental Degradation, 101 Denv. L. Rev. 793 (2024).