This study will examine Dismantling the Cold War Economy, by Ann Markusen and Joel Yudken, considering the chief problems associated with the Cold War economy, the impact of the Cold War on U.S. industry, and the possibility and opportunities of economic conversion from Cold War imperatives, as well as the obstacles to that conversion. The argument herein will be that despite the fact that the military domination of the Cold War economy created serious obstacles to post-Cold War conversion, and despite the fact that those obstacles are deeply entrenched despite the end of the Cold War, such conversion is possible. Perhaps the authors are overly optimistic in this regard, but it would still be going too far to argue that conversion is impossible. After all, the conversion to a military-industrial-dominated economy (which had its origins not in the Cold War but before and during the American involvement in World War II) took place in a relatively short time. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that a committed nation could not once again transform its economy to fit post-Cold War requirements.
The arguments of the authors is that the Cold War economy was dominated by the military-industrial complex, and that that complex "developed a business culture that favored glitz and gimmickry over cost minimization and concentrated marketing efforts on lobbying and negotiating with the Pentagon" (xv). Not only was the economy dependent on the military-industrial relationship, but the Cold War economy also made some of the most skilled and creative engineers and scientists dependent on an industry which focused on the design and construction of weapons and weapons system of death and destruction (xvi).
The problems created by the Cold War economy are outlined clearly by the authors. The militaristic economy of the U.S. is the major reason for the failure of the nation's industry to take the lead in industrial and technological innovati...