Very interesting as always Sam. A minor correction is that the Nemesis was not in fact a Royal Navy ship (so not 'HMS'). She was an East India Company vessel, which underlines rather nicely your point about civil-military fusion and the important role of the private economy in developing and funding military technology. The Royal Navy was rather suspicious of steam to begin with, so in this case the initiative was taken by the Company, which was less hide-bound in its attitude to new technology.
Yes, good point. I'm afraid I've been guilty of some editorial sloppiness in favour of editorial ease as I didn't want to have a whole paragraph explaining the difference between the RN and the Company... But you are completely correct.
Great piece, Sam, though I thought your final paragraph somewhat at odds with the balanced tone of the rest of the article. It’s not necessarily unhealthy that in established capitalist liberal democratic economies there’s an unwillingness on the part of companies to participate in the defence industrial complex. In the past this has been easier to justify where there is a clear and present danger to defend against: is that in your view now the case with China? Aside from Taiwan and the South China Sea, do you see China as militarily threatening broader interests?
Hi Johnny. As per the reply to JJ below, sadly I see a very real possibility of conflict escalation between China and the West, particularly with Taiwan. I have an article around the corner that goes into this in more detail.
Thanks, Sam, for sharing your thoughts. This is all rather tricky... It should be all the other way around: military science effort contributing to making the civilian world a better place for all. The argument that Western scientists should support Western military to indirectly defend their values is likely a textbook example of how conflict escalation works. As long as 'world dominance' is the goal, there is sadly no cure for this.
Thanks for your comment JJ, nice to hear from you. The fact is that China is aiming for regional dominance which will lead to America losing its global dominance, as whoever leads Asia now leads the world. China is building a military to challenge the US, they have been very explicit about that. So if the Western scientists want to see the West retain its position then they need to step up to the plate. Many are, but some aren't. As for your comment on conflict escalation, alas I don't think we can escape that now.
Very interesting as always Sam. A minor correction is that the Nemesis was not in fact a Royal Navy ship (so not 'HMS'). She was an East India Company vessel, which underlines rather nicely your point about civil-military fusion and the important role of the private economy in developing and funding military technology. The Royal Navy was rather suspicious of steam to begin with, so in this case the initiative was taken by the Company, which was less hide-bound in its attitude to new technology.
Yes, good point. I'm afraid I've been guilty of some editorial sloppiness in favour of editorial ease as I didn't want to have a whole paragraph explaining the difference between the RN and the Company... But you are completely correct.
Great piece, Sam, though I thought your final paragraph somewhat at odds with the balanced tone of the rest of the article. It’s not necessarily unhealthy that in established capitalist liberal democratic economies there’s an unwillingness on the part of companies to participate in the defence industrial complex. In the past this has been easier to justify where there is a clear and present danger to defend against: is that in your view now the case with China? Aside from Taiwan and the South China Sea, do you see China as militarily threatening broader interests?
Hi Johnny. As per the reply to JJ below, sadly I see a very real possibility of conflict escalation between China and the West, particularly with Taiwan. I have an article around the corner that goes into this in more detail.
Looking forward to it
Thanks, Sam, for sharing your thoughts. This is all rather tricky... It should be all the other way around: military science effort contributing to making the civilian world a better place for all. The argument that Western scientists should support Western military to indirectly defend their values is likely a textbook example of how conflict escalation works. As long as 'world dominance' is the goal, there is sadly no cure for this.
Thanks for your comment JJ, nice to hear from you. The fact is that China is aiming for regional dominance which will lead to America losing its global dominance, as whoever leads Asia now leads the world. China is building a military to challenge the US, they have been very explicit about that. So if the Western scientists want to see the West retain its position then they need to step up to the plate. Many are, but some aren't. As for your comment on conflict escalation, alas I don't think we can escape that now.