The High-Tech Arsenal of Democracy: Economic Strength and Scientific Innovation in the Evolution of Modern Warfare
Doug Livermore
“We must be the great arsenal of democracy. We must apply ourselves to our task with the same resolution, the same sense of urgency, the same spirit of patriotism and sacrifice as we would show were we at war.â€
-- Franklin Roosevelt, Dec 29, 1940
The ability to leverage financial capabilities to bankroll both technological innovation and large-scale production of war materiel has increasingly driven the evolution of modern warfare. There is every indication that these interdependent elements will continue to have an even greater impact on the international security environment in the 21st century and beyond. In his thesis The Western Way of War, Geoffrey Parker presents several common characteristics unique to Western societies that contributed to their military success.
Among these characteristics, the West enjoyed marked advantages related to financial mobilization and technological innovation that greatly explain the evolution of modern war. Certainly, other characteristics identified by Parker are still applicable, but these two characteristics had the greatest overall impact on the evolution of warfare. Parker discussed how Western countries leveraged their burgeoning economies and financial institutions to fund large land armies and massive fleets with rapidly evolving technologies to both fight other Western states and ultimately expand into grand global empires. Such conferred advantages continue to have an outsized influence on modern warfare, and it is clear that this trend will continue to impact the future security environment.
https://smallwarsjournal.com/index.php/jrnl/art/high-tech-arsenal-democracy-economic-strength-and-scientific-innovation-evolution-modern
