When describing the trade-off between government expenditures on the military versus social welfare and economic programs, the common adage "guns vs. butter" is used. This situation is referring to which of the following concepts?
A) The peace dividend
B) Opportunity costs
C) Coercive diplomacy
D) Security dilemma

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The "guns vs. butter" adage is used to describe the concept of opportunity costs, which refers to the trade-off between choosing to allocate resources (in this case, government funds) towards one option (military spending) over another (social welfare and economic programs). By choosing to spend money on the military, the government must give up the opportunity to allocate those funds towards social welfare and economic programs, and vice versa.

When Describing the Trade-Off Between Government Expenditures on the Military