Whatever happened to the post–Cold War “peace dividend”? Why does military spending continue to escape federal budget reductions? Why, despite the nearly universal desire to reduce government waste and budget deficits, is the United States still saddled with a costly, bloated military-industrial complex? The answer, says Sanford Gottlieb, is the debilitating dependence of a key sector of the American economy on defense jobs and profits. Defense Addiction is based on hundreds of interviews with defense contractors, union representatives, members of Congress, state and federal officials, lobbyists, economic development professionals, and local activists. Gottlieb explains how these groups and individuals cope with defense dependence, competition for federal funds, and budget and job cuts—painting a sobering picture of how this addiction hampers the nation’s ability to deal effectively with a host of domestic and global problems. Gottlieb’s engaging and jargon-free volume points to civilian public investments, reduced military spending, strengthened international peacekeeping, and other measures that could help our country kick the defense habit. His book also provides guidance to companies and communities struggling to break free in the face of inadequate government policies.

This book shows how to make the smoothest possible transition to civilian use of newly released military resources, especially the physical and human resources that have been devoted to defense production and thereby help people make the required economic adjustment.