by Yanis Iqbal / January 2nd, 2021 The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has announced that weapons exports have risen by 2.8% to $175 billion in 2020. In their annual briefing on US arms sales, the Pentagon and State Department cold-bloodedly described this increase as an “accomplishment”. The Permanent Crisis of Capitalism The growth in arms sales is structurally driven by the permanent crisis of capitalism. There has been a long-term decline in the rate of profit of the productive sectors of leading capitalist states. This decline began in 1965 and persisted all through the 1970s. A partial recovery occurred from 1982 to 1997, at roughly two-thirds the 1965 level. This was followed by another drop after 1997 and then another recovery in 2006, back up to 1997 levels. A sharp fall in the course of the 2008 crisis soon took place, which took the profit rate down to roughly one-third of the 1965 level. Thereafter, another weak recovery has ensued.