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Why the US military spending is so high requires some history. Before WWII, the US was actually quite isolationist: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-19

Why the US military spending is so high requires some history. Before WWII, the US was actually quite isolationist: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/american-isolationism https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/american-isol... The US wanted to stay out of other people's wars and problems and take care of itself. The simple version is that Pearl Harbor showed the US what happens when you do that, although of course it was more complicated than that. Ever since then, the US has decided, for better or worse, to involve itself in problems around the world. It's in the US's best interests. Many countries have smaller militaries because they are a part of NATO, which is largely backed by the US. So when you compare their military to the US's, it's not really a fair comparison.

josho 10y ago
I understand the historical context and your argument. It doesn't explain why the US spends more in raw dollars than every other country combined. It seems whenever I ask the question about spending the response I hear assumes the only other option is to spend next to nothing. Rather, I'm simply curious why it isn't even up for consideration to reduce spending to bring it into line with other countries, or even smaller cutbacks that would leave the US spending above all other nations. I've never ever heard that up for discussion by an American.
- zeveb 10y ago
  > It doesn't explain why the US spends more in raw dollars than every other country combined. Because a) we spend a reasonable proportion of our GDP on defense and b) we have a really, really high GDP. Multiply a sane proportion by a big number and you get … a really big number.