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Indefensible: Seven Myths that Sustain the Global Arms Trade
Although there is often opposition to individual wars, most people continue to believe that the arms industry is necessary in some to safeguard our security, provide jobs and stimulate the economy. Not only conservatives, but many progressives and liberals, support it for these reasons.
Indefensible puts forward a devastating challenge to this conventional wisdom, which has normalised the existence of the most savage weapons of mass destruction ever known. It is the essential handbook for those who want to debunk the arguments of the industry and its deploying case studies, statistics and irrefutable evidence to demonstrate they are fundamentally flawed, both factually and logically.
Far from protecting us, the book shows how the arms trade undermines our security by fanning the flames of war, terrorism and global instability. In countering these myths, the book points to ways in which we can combat the arms trade's malignant influence, reclaim our democracies and reshape our economies.
Indefensible puts forward a devastating challenge to this conventional wisdom, which has normalised the existence of the most savage weapons of mass destruction ever known. It is the essential handbook for those who want to debunk the arguments of the industry and its deploying case studies, statistics and irrefutable evidence to demonstrate they are fundamentally flawed, both factually and logically.
Far from protecting us, the book shows how the arms trade undermines our security by fanning the flames of war, terrorism and global instability. In countering these myths, the book points to ways in which we can combat the arms trade's malignant influence, reclaim our democracies and reshape our economies.
- GenresPoliticsNonfictionWar
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 15, 2016
7 people are currently reading
196 people want to read
About the author
Paul Holden
61 books13 followersPaul Holden is an investigative journalist and author with 15 years experience investigating corruption. He was senior researcher on the book and documentarry Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade. His book, The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Labour Together and the Crisis of British Democracy was published by OR Books in November 2025.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 21, 2023
2016 book makes a lot of good points. Altogether, the defense industry is inefficient and “makes us less safe,” the book argues. If we spent a fraction “on virtually anything else — renewable energy, welfare, tax cuts — the economic benefits would be enormous.”
Part of the argument: In the arms industry, “transactions may have more to do with gaining access to public funds than responding to real threats,” and in the long run, “ill-conceived wars may increase security threats.” Considering various real threats, we humans should consider other routes like “diplomacy, aid and collaborative efforts to counter climate change.” Unfortunately, we tend to use military approaches for, say, public health issues — like Ebola or “the decades-long US ‘war on drugs’ which has been used to justify aid to death squads and repressive regimes abroad,” including “aerial application of pesticides” where certain crops are grown, along with “mass surveillance and incarceration at home.”
Defense spending is often assumed to fuel economies, but the book lists four primary ways in which it can be economically harmful: The nation will have less money with which to address any economic crisis that may arise. The defense sector “sucks up skilled workers such as engineers and scientists,” and the civilian sector may not be able to offer competitive salaries (“skills externality”). If you export arms to “questionable allies,” you have to use your profits to beef up your own military to protect yourself against the people to whom you just sold weapons, which is financially wasteful and also escalates conflict. Besides, there’s a lot of corruption.
Easy to read. You don't have to be an economist. Good for someone who wants a broad overview on a matter of principle and great consequence.
Part of the argument: In the arms industry, “transactions may have more to do with gaining access to public funds than responding to real threats,” and in the long run, “ill-conceived wars may increase security threats.” Considering various real threats, we humans should consider other routes like “diplomacy, aid and collaborative efforts to counter climate change.” Unfortunately, we tend to use military approaches for, say, public health issues — like Ebola or “the decades-long US ‘war on drugs’ which has been used to justify aid to death squads and repressive regimes abroad,” including “aerial application of pesticides” where certain crops are grown, along with “mass surveillance and incarceration at home.”
Defense spending is often assumed to fuel economies, but the book lists four primary ways in which it can be economically harmful: The nation will have less money with which to address any economic crisis that may arise. The defense sector “sucks up skilled workers such as engineers and scientists,” and the civilian sector may not be able to offer competitive salaries (“skills externality”). If you export arms to “questionable allies,” you have to use your profits to beef up your own military to protect yourself against the people to whom you just sold weapons, which is financially wasteful and also escalates conflict. Besides, there’s a lot of corruption.
Easy to read. You don't have to be an economist. Good for someone who wants a broad overview on a matter of principle and great consequence.
March 26, 2020
An excellent book - well written, extensively supported by credible sources and thorough in its argumentation. Gives hope to those who want to see the tide turned. The seven myths effectively rebutted are:
1. Higher defence spending equals increased security
2. Military spending is driven by security concerns
3. We can control where weapons end up and how they are used
4. The defence industry is a key contributor to national economies
5. Corruption in the arms trade is only a problem in developing countries
6. National security requires blanket secrecy
7. Now is not the time
Myth 6 is, of course, of particular interest to victims of armed conflicts which have involved state security forces, e.g. Northern Ireland, where "national security" has been excessively used as a "reason" to obstruct the truth and delay or deny justice to victims.
The book effectively takes readers through the contribution of the global arms industry to creating and sustaining bloody and devastating recent conflicts such as ISIS in Iraq and Syria and others.
1. Higher defence spending equals increased security
2. Military spending is driven by security concerns
3. We can control where weapons end up and how they are used
4. The defence industry is a key contributor to national economies
5. Corruption in the arms trade is only a problem in developing countries
6. National security requires blanket secrecy
7. Now is not the time
Myth 6 is, of course, of particular interest to victims of armed conflicts which have involved state security forces, e.g. Northern Ireland, where "national security" has been excessively used as a "reason" to obstruct the truth and delay or deny justice to victims.
The book effectively takes readers through the contribution of the global arms industry to creating and sustaining bloody and devastating recent conflicts such as ISIS in Iraq and Syria and others.
July 6, 2018
An important topic and an important argument. However, a lot of the argumentation is rather anecdotal and lacks stringency. All in all this makes for an ambivalent read.
October 23, 2020
Did not inform me of anything that I did not know already. Shallow
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews