Defence is a word that usually evokes images of soldiers and tanks. But as modern and future enemies shape-shift into unprecedented forms, does the almost $2trln that was spent globally on defence in 2019 actually protect people from harm? The answer is clearly no.
Military spending on this scale is a vast misallocation of resources from where governments’ spending needs to be focused. Climate change, pandemics, biodiversity loss and growing inequality all pose severe threats to the security of humans on a global level.
After a year in which traditional defence spending was impotent against the havoc wreaked by COVID-19 on the world – now is the time to redirect that spending to areas that are immediate threats to human security. A 10% redirection annually would be a good start.
