Governments always call the industry which makes machines for killing people the 'defence industry'. This is what people call a euphemism: an okay-sounding word or phrase which covers up something unpleasant. This industry - the war industry - is unbelievably huge. The USA, the world's most powerful country, plans to spend $344,000,000,000[1] on 'defence' in just one year. Divided up, that's over $57 for every human on the planet! Other countries spend smaller but still enormous amounts - often more than they can afford for fear of being left behind in the arms race.

Countries around the world spent nearly $840 billion on weapons and other military expenditures in 2001. That's an average of $137 per person. [1]

If just some of the money spent in one year on the war industry went into helping poor countries and their people out of debt, the misery of poor people - disease and poverty - could be solved. Every child could go to school and everyone could have enough to eat, medical help when they need it and a place to live. I think it's very very sad that this never happens. So the number of people who survive on less than $1 per day goes up (over 1,000,000,000), the poor get poorer and die of disease or hunger and thousands of people get killed in wars. Why? Why can't humans just learn to get along?

1. Europaworld

1. 'Is US power a source for good in the world?', Le Monde, in Guardian Weekly, January 17-23, 2002, 29. The US spends more than Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany put together on 'defence'.