Originally Posted by alansmithee

You know, he's right. You are exaggerating what he said. There's an obvious externality being created by the US's military spending. During the Cold war, western Europe was able to develop their economy, knowing that the US was largely footing the bill for their defense (with not only the stationed troops, but NATO). And despite the recent tensions, Europe (and Canada) know that if some despot does arise (I'm looking at you, Germany) the US will come to their defense. It's not about bowing down before American superiority, it's about recognizing the fact that because of the US's bloated military budget, the rest of the western world doesn't have to create their own bloated militaries. And there's a similar effect in medicine, but not quite as pronounced (innovations created in America where the profit is higher spread around the world to places where national health care make developing many drugs not profitable).