Income and Inequality Outcomes of Arms Exports: Where Does the Marxist Argument Stand?

Abstract

Although in 21th Century not a single country could be classified as a purely capitalist or socialist state, but history still remembers the old politico-economic block (Bi Polar) formation of some countries as the proponents of capitalistic economic system and some as the followers of socialism. It is thought that the reason behind two World Wars was no other than the effort to dominate one economic system over the other. The enmity between the proponents of each of these systems is still alive today and the allies of both the sides are claiming rivalry to each other, especially the main champions of the systems. After the world wars, both the groups have not only economically and politically maltreated each other in the era of cold war, but have also started a race of militarization and weaponization to protect themselves from the potential fears from each other. By presenting the situation regarding exports of arms as well as by portraying the situations of per capita income and income inequality for previously been socialist (China and Russia) and capitalist (US and UK) states, the current study intends to view these two blocks from the Marxist lens. The main question of research tried to answer in the current study encompasses the following sub-questions, whether or not the capitalist economies are: a) exhibiting a butter versus gun trade-off in terms of allocation of scarce resources, b) a cause of low per capita income, c) demonstrating equal distributing of income?