[oh_sigh]

What happens if you spend all your self-defense money on 'feeding, clothing, and educating the poor', and then a despotic nation which was spending 25% of it's GDP on military rolls over you?

[rhodrid]

The Cassini mission reminded me of the line "we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace." and I thought I'd post the whole verse as it is as poignant today as it as ever has been.

What we can accomplish together in peace is breathtaking.

[riffraff]

I'm pretty sure the "we" in the sentence is "humanity" not "my country". It is obviously a utopian message.

[oh_sigh]

Okay....so humanity stops building weapons, and then a small group of people decide to build some weapons in secret, and can easily enslave humanity.

That doesn't sound like a great system.

[ak39]

The poor, uneducated and subjugated people of this "despotic nation" are the first folks we ought to feed, educate and look after.

Despots are created and thrive on the backs of hungry and hopeless citizens.

[oh_sigh]

Okay, so we feed and educate some other nations people, so that nation can now afford to put 45% of it's GDP into weapons and military. I don't think that will accomplish what we want it to accomplish.

[matwood]

I agree with you, but do you think if we send a bunch of food to one of these despotic nations the people there would actually get fed? If you really want to feed and educate the world, you also have to police the world.

I'm not saying the US currently does either (feeds or polices the world), but just pointing out that spending the military budget on food will not change much.

[colordrops]

The quote is about an ideal utopic society, and it would be humans as a whole, including that despotic nation, spending all the self-defense money.

[MrZongle2]

I think you're supposed to hand them a Pepsi.