Click to enlarge image
We live in a rich world and yet increasingly people ...
(Mairead Maguire, Irish peace activist an)
We live in a rich world and yet increasingly people are getting caught in the poverty trap and facing real hardship and pain. Vijay Mehta's excellent book sets out the problems and solutions, and challenges us all to create the spiritual and political will to implement policies which will bring about real change and give hope to humanity.
(Mairead Maguire, Irish peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner.)
The Economics of Killing brilliantly links the deepening economic crisis ...
(Richard Falk, United Nations Special Rap)
The Economics of Killing brilliantly links the deepening economic crisis facing the West with the dynamics of militarism that is wreaking havoc on the planet. Everyone who cares about the future must read this groundbreaking book.
(Richard Falk, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for the Palestinian Territories, Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University, USA)
Vijay Mehta’s book shines a timely light on the role ...
(Caroline Lucas, MP and Leader, Green Par)
Vijay Mehta’s book shines a timely light on the role that Western Governments play in perpetuating conflict around the world. It is particularly welcome in that it does not just identify and detail the problem – it puts forward an alternative, and one which anyone genuinely committed to peace, justice and equality cannot afford to ignore.
(Caroline Lucas, MP and Leader, Green Party, UK)
It is about time someone exposed the nefarious activities of ...
(Arun Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi,)
It is about time someone exposed the nefarious activities of the military-industrial complex that is destroying the foundations of civilized human existence. It has made killing a proifitable industry. This book is a must read for all peace-seekers.
(Arun Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, President, Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, Rochester, NY, USA)
The book depicts ways in which the western powers can ...
(Deepak Chopra, author of the best-sellin)
The book depicts ways in which the western powers can restructure their economies away from the reliance on the military industrial complex towards making the 21st century an era of soft power for a more peaceful and sustainable future.
(Deepak Chopra, author of the best-selling Peace is the Way)
The Charter of the United Nations starts in this way: ...
(Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Former Director)
The Charter of the United Nations starts in this way: “We, the Peoples… have resolved to save the succeeding generations from the scourge of war”… But instead of better sharing and building peace through social justice and economy guided by the “democratic principles” –so well enshrined in the UNESCO’s Constitution- and by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the sinister proverb “if you wish peace prepare war” has been secularly applied by male rulers. And plutocratic (G7, G8 ) groups have taken over the functions of the United Nations, and have placed the market in the very core of the world governance… The result is a profound financial crisis that hides the most urgent planetary challenges as access to food and health of all human beings, the environmental progressive degradation; the lack of horizons of the humanity worldwide. The net balance is $4 billion per day in military expenditures while 70,000 persons die of hunger…The book of Vijay Mehta is extremely timely and provides –what is extremely important and must be underlined- not only excellent diagnosis but also appropriate treatments. And the first is to reduce the power of the military industrial complex.
(Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Former Director-General UNESCO, President, Foundation Culture of Peace, Madrid, Spain)
Congratulations to Vijay Mehta on having grappled with this complex ...
(Lord Frank Judd, Minister for Overseas D)
Congratulations to Vijay Mehta on having grappled with this complex and too often sinister issue. The latest technology, with the clinically remote killing process of drones and the like, makes it all the more urgent and compelling. We are all involved. The subsidies by taxpayers to the arms industry are immense. Were that industry exposed to the full rigours of the market economy, it would be in deep trouble. It is a challenge to us all. Vijay Mehta helps us to face up to it.
(Lord Frank Judd, Minister for Overseas Development (1976-1977), Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1977-1979), Director of Oxfam (1985-91) London, UK)
This important book identifies the real crisis ahead for the ...
(Tony Benn, former MP and Cabinet Ministe)
This important book identifies the real crisis ahead for the world which is not narrowly environmental but the fact that with rising population we will not have enough food or oil or water to survive. That is the real reason that this book, pointing to the waste in military expenditure, offers the real alternative to starvation, which is cooperation to meet our needs.
(Tony Benn, former MP and Cabinet Minister, President, Stop the War Coalition, London, UK)
The book exposes the reader to the vicious Northern military-industrial ...
(Denis Halliday, UN Assistant Secretary G)
The book exposes the reader to the vicious Northern military-industrial complex, and roles of the media and energy sectors, plus the corrupting role of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in the profits of endless poverty. As power is shifting to the new emerging powers of the South, this book provides hope that the Northern centuries-old model of brutal human exploitation and blatant use of warfare will be uprooted and changed to support socio economic well being, equal opportunity and sustainable prosperity.
(Denis Halliday, UN Assistant Secretary General (1994-1998) and Former Coordinator of the UN Humanitarian Program in Iraq)
In his book, ''The Economics of Killing: How the West ...
(Bruce Kent, Vice President, Campaign for)
In his book, ''The Economics of Killing: How the West Fuels War and Poverty in the Developing World” Vijay Mehta lifts the curtain on a truth which many would prefer concealed. If we were to become instruments of peace instead of war and redirect some of the global trillion and a half dollars spent annually on war and weapons to real human needs there would be no need to create Millennium Development Goals.All those supporting humanitarian NGOs should read Mehta’s book and act on it.
(Bruce Kent, Vice President, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), Movement for the Abolition of War. London, UK)
Measured against their own proclaimed noble ideals, those in power ...
(Henning Melber, Executive Director of Th)
Measured against their own proclaimed noble ideals, those in power in the imperialist Western states (and most countries elsewhere) betray their ordinary citizens and the overwhelming majority in the rest of the world. A global pact among elites is based on a hegemonic discourse claiming to provide ‘development’. But it is merely the ideological smokescreen for maintaining control over entrenched own interests, based on a power of definition selectively used to fuel the further growth of a military-industrial complex. Such continued minority rule puts the future of mankind – if not the planet – at risk. Vijay Mehta’s powerful intervention reminds us of the need to mobilise for counter-models. It is a forceful appeal to find adequate forms of also multilateral cooperation in search for an alternative future.
(Henning Melber, Executive Director of The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Uppsala, Sweden)
It is high time for a book like this to ...
(Jan Pronk, Former Dutch Minister of Deve)
It is high time for a book like this to be written and read. We are beyond traditional international development cooperation. Globalisation and geopolitics have resulted in a complex network of economic, financial, political and military interests of countries and companies. Vijay Mehta's study of the underlying power relations reveals unpalatable truths. It also points in a different direction: policy making based on true values concerning peoples development, transparency, equity and human rights.
(Jan Pronk, Former Dutch Minister of Development and Minister of the Environment, The Hague, Netherlands)
This is a book to challenge and test our comfortable ...
(Dan Smith, Secretary General, Internatio)
This is a book to challenge and test our comfortable assumptions about how the world works, who wields power and what for.
(Dan Smith, Secretary General, International Alert, London, UK)
It should be obvious to every thinking person on the ...
(Tim Wallis, Executive Director of Nonvio)
It should be obvious to every thinking person on the planet that killing people, maiming them, torturing them, dropping bombs on them, blowing up their homes or destroying their livelihoods is not an effective way to make the world a safer or more peaceful place. All war and violence has ever achieved is to fuel more hatred and to sow the seeds of the next conflict. So who benefits from the world’s insane, drug-like dependency on weapons and military force as the ‘solution’ to every problem? Vijay Mehta lays out in this book how the world has got into this situation and how we can get ourselves out of it. The real solutions are all there right in front of our noses! The time has come to start implementing them.
(Tim Wallis, Executive Director of Nonviolent Peaceforce Europe, Brussels, Belgium)
In The Economics of Killing, Vijay Mehta clearly describes the ...
(David Krieger, President of Nuclear Age )
In The Economics of Killing, Vijay Mehta clearly describes the connections that link the global machinery of war with global poverty. This book goes to the heart of the global problematique and should be read by anyone who cares about building a more decent, equitable and sustainable world order.
(David Krieger, President of Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, California, USA)
Vijay Mehta has thrown down a challenge to the hypocrisy ...
(John Hilary, Executive Director, War on )
Vijay Mehta has thrown down a challenge to the hypocrisy of Western states that preach human rights and development but promote militarism and chaos. As this fascinating book makes clear, we have a choice to make between perpetual crisis, war and poverty on the one hand and the positive alternatives of demilitarisation, disarmament and social investment on the other. Mehta has issued a compelling call to arms against the military-industrial complex that sustains global capitalism. It is up to us to respond.
(John Hilary, Executive Director, War on Want, London, UK)
The Economics of Killing: How The West Fuels War and ...
(Marjolijn Snippe, LL.M International Law)
The Economics of Killing: How The West Fuels War and Poverty in the Developing World is a marvellous read where Vijay has found exactly the right words to describe the present dangerous world situation, the urgency to solve it and above all, offering insights how to solve it. All this with due respect for our beautiful planet and all its inhabitants. Thank you for this, Vijay!
(Marjolijn Snippe, LL.M International Law, World Federalist and advocate of United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA), Netherlands)
Government Aid budgets have been sorely compromised by insane spending ...
(Renu Mehta, Founder, Fortune Forum chari)
Government Aid budgets have been sorely compromised by insane spending on defence. As a result, we in the development camp are striving for ways to increase and improve Aid delivery to meet the scale of humanity's problems; half the world's population are battling hunger and disease. My father's book 'The Economics of Killing: How the West Fuels Wars and Poverty in the Developing World' is the best case scenario - it shows us how we can swap insanity for our shared humanity.
(Renu Mehta, Founder, Fortune Forum charity and MM Aid Model co-architect, London, UK)
Vijay Mehta's book is thought-provoking at a time of world ...
(Sir Brian Urquhart, Former UN Under-Secr)
Vijay Mehta's book is thought-provoking at a time of world economic crisis when fresh thoughts and approaches are sorely needed. I hope it will be widely read, especially by those who may, at first, find its substance unpalatable.
(Sir Brian Urquhart, Former UN Under-Secretary General for Special Political Affairs)
The Economics of Killing
How the West Fuels War and Poverty in the Developing World
Product Description
Globalisation has created an interconnected world, but has not diminished violence, militarism and inequality. The Economics of Killing describes how the power of global elites, entrenched under globalisation, has created a deadly cycle of violence.
In this groundbreaking work, Vijay Mehta shows how attempts at peaceful national development are routinely blocked by Western powers. He locates the 2008 financial crisis in US attempts to block China's model of development. He shows how Europe and the US conspire with regional dictators to prevent countries from developing advanced industries, and how this system has fed terrorism.
Mehta argues that a different world is possible, based on policies of disarmament, demilitarisation and sustainable development. This original and thought-provoking book will be of great interest to anyone concerned about the consequences of endless war fuelled by the West.
About The Author
Vijay Mehta is an author and peace activist. He is Chair of Uniting for Peace and founding trustee of the Fortune Forum charity. His books include The Fortune Forum Code: For a Sustainable Future (2006), Arms No More (2005), and The United Nations and Its Future in the 21st Century (2005).
Acknowledgement
Foreword
Introduction
Part I Military Industrial Complex – Power, Myths, Facts and Figures
1. How the West’s Addiction to Arms Sales Caused the 2008 Structural Financial Crisis
2. What is the Military Industrial Complex?
3. The Culture of Militarism and Global North’s Power of Definition
4. Europe and the Remaking of the Middle East
Part II Military Spending and Its Ill Effects
5. Negative Effects of Conflicts on Global, Human Security, Refugees, Forced Migrations and Urbanisation
6. War and its Ill Effects on Health, Environment and Development
Part III The Folly of Chronic Wars – For Profit, Resources and Domination – More Weapons – More Wars – More Profits
7. Terrorism and Non-State Actors, and How to Make Them Stop
8. China's Periphery – The Military-Industrial Mess That Could Destroy a Bright Future
9. The Emerging Conflicts – Other Future Fault-lines of the World
Part IV A New Vision, A New Beginning In A New Millennium – A Practical Way Of Reducing Arms, Armies And Wars For The Survival Of Humanity
10. Averting Disaster – What Type of Global Security Architecture Fits in Today’s World?
11. Replacing Military Industrial Complex – Making the 21st Century the Century of Soft Power
Epilogue: The Path Ahead
Notes
Index
Prices
