States spend on weapons only after mandatory survival costs, like crabs

Evidence

Like crabs, states have mandatory expenses that they must pay first, before they can shunt resources into weapons. Crabs are made from millions of cells, which need to be fed and protected. If the cells die, the crab dies, and most of its mandatory expenditures revolve around keeping these cells alive. States are made up of people, and necessary expenses protect and nurture these people—things such as education and welfare, police forces and highways. Only when funds are left over after mandatory expenses are accounted for can states invest in militaries, weapons, and other luxury items. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 556

Categorization

• XREF: Connects the organism/state analogy developed in prior chapters on crab weapons and military expenditure to a unified resource-allocation framework. — connects to: Weapons grow late because development prioritizes mandatory survival expenses first — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 336; Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 199; Predation risk is a near-universal cost of elaborate weapons — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 307
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 556

Related

• Weapons grow late because development prioritizes mandatory survival expenses first (similarity 0.86)
• Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs (similarity 0.84)
• Predation risk is a near-universal cost of elaborate weapons (similarity 0.82)
• Specific ecological circumstances must align before weapon arms races begin (similarity 0.80)
• Weapon evolution needs both competition and economically defensible resources (similarity 0.79)
• Weapon size should track resource availability more than any mandatory body part (similarity 0.78)
• Weapon expense is what keeps signals of fighting ability honest (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Weapons grow late because development prioritizes mandatory survival expenses first #corroborates (0.85) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 336
• Weapons evolve only when reproductive benefits exceed costs #expands (0.60) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 199
• Predation risk is a near-universal cost of elaborate weapons #complicates (0.55) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 307