Episode Details

How much of a nation's wealth should go to defense before it becomes unsustainable? This episode explores the surprising history behind NATO's 2% target, the free-riding critique aimed at Ireland, and the real defense spending figures for constant-threat countries like Israel, South Korea, and Poland. But the most underexplored question is the third: is there a ceiling beyond which defense spending destroys a society, even if it buys more security? We examine the economic tradeoffs, the counterexample of Israel's high-tech economy, and why economists still can't agree on the number.