Quote of the day, March 1 -- 'Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed" - Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th US President.

Eisenhower delivered one of the most enduring critiques of unchecked militarism in a 1953 speech often referred to as "The Chance for Peace". In it, he stated, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed."

Eisenhower's statement is about opportunity cost, the idea that resources devoted to one purpose cannot be used for another. When governments invest heavily in weapons, armies and military hardware, they inevitably divert...