At what percent?

Question

when a democracy starts spending its GNP on military spending, at what percent does it become a democracy in name only, and becomes effectively a communist dictatorship.

Answer 1

I'm not clear on why you think big military spending automatically leads to a communist dictatorship. The US, for example, spends more of its GDP on its military than most other developed countries, but that does not make it communist, far from it.

Answer 2

A communist dictatorship is not by any definition determined by the per centage of GNP spent on the military or any particular program.  Communism is defined by Merriam-Webster in part as "a theory advocating elimination of private property" or as "a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed"  or as "a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production."

A dictatorship is defined as "a form of government in which absolute power is concentrated in a dictator or a small clique" or as "a government organization or group in which absolute power is so concentrated" or as "a despotic state" (which means a state ruled by "a ruler with absolute power and authority").

Therefore, there is no way to equate military spending with communist dictatorship, except when, in a certain situation, that figure becomes (or narrowly approaches) 100%, because for such a thing to be true, the state would indeed have to own all forms of production AND that state would have to be governed by a single authoritarian group or party.

Answer 3

100