The Government Should Increase Spending On Defense And Spend Less On Social Benefits
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Sample essay
The primary role of the state is to protect its citizens from different types of threat. Therefore, some people argue that the government should direct much of its financial resources to the defense sector and cut down the spending on social welfare. I do not agree with this view. In my opinion, a country has to spend on both social welfare and defense.
There is no denying the fact that a powerful military can ensure the safety of the citizens and maintain peace in a country. A strong military deters aggressive neighbours or terrorists from attacking a country and thereby prevents the loss of innocent lives and property. Moreover, in some countries, military can help with law enforcement and promote political stability by maintaining the sovereignty of the government. Therefore, it is crucial for a government to allocate a sufficient amount of funding to the defense sector.
However, the spending on military cannot be at the expense of social spending because the social welfare is as critical as military might for a country to thrive. The government is responsible to ensure that all the people can satisfy their basic human needs such as food, shelter and health care. By providing welfare for the neediest members of the society through various schemes, the state can improve their living standards and make its people happy and contented. If there were no social benefit programs such as retirement schemes, disability benefits or subsidized housing, the vulnerable sections of the society would suffer. This can lead to resentment among the disadvantaged sections of the society and social uprising against the authorities. Moreover, citizens are entitled to receive benefits because they pay taxes to the government. Nowadays, only those countries which put great importance on social security can prosper. For example, Canada is a thriving country whose citizens enjoy almost free healthcare.
In conclusion, the state should give as much importance to the welfare of the citizens as to their safety and it will do more harm than good if it reduces the spending on social welfare for increasing military expenditure.
