@MajorMitchell "The more pertinent question is, is the military ~industrial complex the most efficient way to spend all that wealth in R&D ? Or, do the "goals" of the Military ~Industrial complex distort the ways R&D is driven and opportunities and possible applications are lost or delayed as a result ? Opportunity & lost opportunity costs ?"
This question is invaluable. Opportunity cost is an enormous factor to consider when weighing the true cost and benefits of large-scale industry as a whole. It's all a question of incentives versus values. Within any given stable power structure or system, sufficient individuals must be incentivized to act at least in part in the interest of maintaining the power structure. Depending on the nature of the system and power structure, maintenance of the system can lead to ethically questionable behavior of the aggregate, even if each individual acts more or less ethically.
That's all to say that something truly monolithic, something with as many intricate moving parts as the Military-Industrial Complex, as a *whole* will *necessarily* act in its own interest at least enough to maintain its current power, but more likely that not, will act to further its Power. What else is Power (that is to say, Power over people) for if not to further itself? Which brings us back to opportunity costs. If these large systems, which by their nature incentivize unethical actions, are funded by taxpayers, is it not deeply problematic in terms of global civilization? Even if the R&D that improves our lives comes most aggressively from the Military-Industrial Complex, is the human cost worth it? How about the genuinely frightful sums of money spend to build glorious war machines and sleek, precision rifles? Are inventive by-products of the tools of destruction worth the sweat of our brow?
For every bullet fired at "The Enemy," how much further do we progress as a species?