Militarisation of the Economy of Capitalist Countries, the subordination of the economy to the interests of preparing and waging war. All kinds of military hardware are needed to make it possible to wage war. As the productive forces develop and the means of waging war improve, the imperialist powers increase their absolute and relative military expenditures, heightening the level of the militarisation of the economy. Whereas in 19th-century wars an average of 8-14 per cent of the national income of the belligerent countries was used for military purposes, during World War II Germany spent 67.8 per cent, Britain 55.7 per cent, and the United States 43.4 per cent. Formerly the militarisation of the economy reached considerable dimensions only on the eve of and during wars. After World War II the aggressive policy of imperialism and the intensive arms race led to an unprecedented peacetime militarisation of the economy of the capitalist countries. One can evaluate the extent of the militarisation of the economy from figures indicating the proportion of GNP used for direct war expenditures. In 1980 for the United States the figure was 5.5 per cent, for Britain—5.1, France—3.9, and the FRG—3.2. The militarisation of the economy has reached its highest level in the United States which occupies a dominating position in the military production of the contemporary capitalist world. Approximately 75 per cent of the planes, missiles, and artillery and infantry weapons, and 66 per cent of the military vessels produced in the NATO 225 countries is concentrated in the United States. Nearly all industries are directly or indirectly connected with the manufacture of a wide range of military hardware. However the aerospace, missile and nuclear industries, shipbuilding, the manufacture of radio-electronic gadgets, tanks and armoured personnel vehicles, ammunition, artillery pieces and small arms, etc., make up the bulk of military production. There are constant changes in the structure of the war industry as a result of the development of military technology, changes in the strategy and character of war preparations, etc. In a militarised economy the military industrial corporations, profiting from government military orders, develop common interests with a certain part of the government and especially the military apparatus. A military industrial complex emerges which advocates the arms race and opposes detente and disarmament. The 26th CPSU Congress noted that the opponents of detente, arms limitation and better relations with the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries have stepped up their activities noticeably. Adventurism and the readiness to gamble with the vital interests of the human race in the interests of their narrow selfish aims are strikingly evident in the policy of the most aggressive imperialist circles. The unprecedented rise in military spending in the capitalist countries, and especially in the United States, is a consequence of this policy. The militarisation of the economy and huge non-productive military expenditures retard economic growth, deform the economic structure, and prevent the countries from dealing with their many acute socioeconomic problems, and are one of the reasons for the swift growth of inflation, the aggravation of the monetary crisis and the other economic difficulties capitalist countries face.