The price of prestige :: conspicuous consumption in international relations /

If wars are costly and risky to both sides, why do they occur? Why engage in an arms race when it's clear that increasing one's own defense expenditures will only trigger a similar reaction by the other side, leaving both countries just as insecure - and considerably poorer? Just as people...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. Verfasser: Gilady, Lilach (VerfasserIn)
Format: Elektronisch E-Book
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2018.
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Zusammenfassung:If wars are costly and risky to both sides, why do they occur? Why engage in an arms race when it's clear that increasing one's own defense expenditures will only trigger a similar reaction by the other side, leaving both countries just as insecure - and considerably poorer? Just as people buy expensive things precisely because they are more expensive, because they offer the possibility of improved social status or prestige, so too do countries, argues Lilach Gilady. In this text, Gilady shows how many seemingly wasteful government expenditures that appear to contradict the laws of demand actually follow the pattern for what are known as Veblen goods, or positional goods for which demand increases alongside price, even when cheaper substitutes are readily available.
Beschreibung:1 online resource (235 pages)
Bibliographie:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9780226433349
022643334X