Publication date:
29 July 2016Length of book:
192 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9781498512985
How should national security concerns alter our perception of what constitutes good economic policy? Survival: The Economic Underpinnings of American National Security introduces principles of national security thinking relevant to public policy, then illustrates application of these principles in a number of policy areas including fiscal policy, healthcare, education, immigration, welfare and poverty abatement, energy, and the environment.
Lipow examines various socioeconomic issues the US faces and how they affect American security. Each chapter covers an issue and suggests a reform. The author discusses some issues most would not see as connected to national security, such as social security. On some issues (immigration), the security connection is clearly made and the author's discussion is eye opening, even counterintuitive... However, chapter 2 is particularly strong in arguing that war is a battle of narratives—one wins a war when the other side no longer believes it can win or in the cause it is fighting for. The author then links this to why democracies are more likely to win and why the size of one’s military matters. Chapter 11, "Military Manpower," is a strength of the text, particularly Lipow's argument for why citizens have a right to serve in the military and how this strengthens the narrative of the country, helping it stay secure and serving as a check on the military in a democracy. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.