World Military and Social Expenditures 1983

by Ruth Leger Sivard, Frank von Hippel (foreword)

In an age of rapidly developing technology, it has seemed natural to leave national security to the technical experts. This has been a dangerous mistake. The search for security through technology has led to increased vulnerability &, as this report so effectively shows, the cancerous growth of military-industrial establishments.
If a more balanced approach is to be achieved, it will be necessary for more people whose business is not weaponry to take national security seriously. Recent events have shown that a large-scale citizen involvement in this area need not be an idle dream. In the past two years there have been enormous demonstrations of public concern about the dangers of the nuclear arms race. What is needed now is for more of this concern to be converted into effective & sustained political action.
Ruth Sivard’s report is a rich storehouse of information which will prove useful to citizen-activists as they question & work to change their government’s security policies.--Frank von Hippel, Federation of American Scientists Chair

48 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1983

About the author

The World Military & Social Expenditures report 1st appeared in 1964, when Ruth Leger Sivard was in charge of international economic studies at the Arms Control & Disarmamant Agency, the government agency responsible for overseeing the country’s armament & disarmament. In response to requests from the State Department & members of the government who needed accurate information in this field, she began collecting statistics on national spending. This was before the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) began to publish an annual newsletter, & there was no other yearly issue of detailed information on world military spending.
As she responded to official requests, Ruth Sivard, who is a sociologist & economist, realized that figures on arms spending would be even more eloquent if they could be set against the amounts devoted to spending in the social sector & other priority needs. This is why the 1st report prepared by her staff & published in 1/66 by her agency included data concerning not only military spending on defense, but also funds devoted to education, health & economic aid to other countries. In 1968, the report’s title was changed to World Military Expenditures, but it continued to compare social spending with military spending & it became the most frequently requested of all the agency’s publications.
In 1973, however, the agency decided to exclude from the report any mention of social needs either in the USA or elsewhere. This radical change was made following complaints by the Defense Department. In a memorandum addressed to the President, the Defense Secretary emphasized that the comparisons shown in the report made it difficult for him to obtain congressional approval for the provisional budget prepared by his department.
Sivard was convinced that it was more vital than ever to warn the public against the social & economic consequences of the arms race. Following the change in government, she decided to resign from her official duties in order to continue bringing out her report, but on a completely independent basis.
Sivard formed a non-profit publishing company, World Priorities Inc., in order to produce her book. Her new report, published in 12/74 & now entitled World Military & Social Expenditures, sharpened the analysis & gave a broader international range of social indicators.
Since then Sivard has been both author & publisher of her report, but she wishes to point out that this independent project would never have seen the light of day if it hadn't been for the generous assistance of several groups which provided her with very detailed data & the organizations which supported her venture. Eminent specialists & members of international institutions also gave their support to the project. UNESCO, thanks to Carceles Breis, was her 1st professional partner: in 4/74, she started to receive statistical data concerning education. Since then, she received increasingly detailed data from this organization every year until she ceased publication in 1996 for health reasons.
The report was distributed worldwide, with more than 20,000 copies printed in English yearly. It has also appeared in French, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Japanese, German & Spanish.
Among the many commendations Ruth Leger Sivard has received is the prestigious UNESCO Peace Education Award in 1991, its former recipient being Mother Theresa.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

By eighty-three, having been asked by an old friend to become actively involved some years before, I was chair of the Socialist Party of Illinois, an alternate on the National Committee and a founding editor of the Chicago-based journal Left Court. Although I'd written a lot of non-attributed stuff for the journal, I had yet to author an article. Having become interested in Sivard's work, I conducted a telephone interview with her and wrote a review of WMSE inclusive of all editions through 1983. The review, which I'll eventually scan and post here, was basically positive, albeit critical of what I saw as her avoidance of the Keynsian function of some military spending.