Weapons, Their Commercialization, and Impact in the Society

The controversy surrounding the role of weapons in the society and how weapons can be best used to achieve the intended role may date as far as the invention of weapons. The specific arguments around the impact that the weapons have brought in the society have changed over time. This paper picks up the conversation regarding the specific roles of the weapons, the transition that has occurred with regards to the different weapons over time and the commercialization of weapons. Since war is eternal, the technological advances of humans in the spectrum have frequently been mirrored by the technological advancement of weaponry throughout the centuries and the millenniums. Right from the rudimentary hand ax to the guns and drones of the modern era, the journey of weaponry has traveled a long away and driven by several warfares of different seasons. 

The transition of Weapons in China and United States 

The Chinese made an ancient weapon which was the semi-automatic machine that went far beyond the limitations which the crossbows had. They later came up with a repeating crossbow which could fire up to ten or more steel in fifteen minutes in succession. This weapon could be operated by holding the stock in the left hand while working the lever in a forward and backward way with the right hand. In contrast to the regular crossbow which could be supported through the shoulder, the weapon's balance was only kept by using the hands only. After the evidence of this weapon was found in the 4th century, Zhuge Liang perfected its design during the period of three kingdoms in China. Some literary sources indicate that close to one thousand Chinese crossbowmen unleashed more than five hundred thousand arrows in one day during a particular encounter with the enemies in the 1st century and hinting that a similar weapon was used during the encounter. Over time and with the advancement of technology, the Chinese have developed more sophisticated weapons. 

Just like the Chinese evolution in weaponry the Americans have traveled the same journey beginning with small arms which were used by the forces during revolution periods. At the beginning of the war with the British, American forces used Musket Model 1795 which was a copy of the French Model 1763, Infantry musket 1 . The muskets were made at different armories in Massachusetts as well as in Harper's Ferry in Virginia. The musket model 1765 was made by Whitney Eli who incorporated technological features like slanted pan and hammer face. In July 1812, Whitney delivered nearly ten thousand muskets to the army under a contract. 

From model 1795 there was model 1816. Even though it had similar features as the previous model, it incorporated more advanced and new features which made it have a new designation. The musket was made at both Massachusetts and Virginia. This musket was used until the Mexican War. Model 1842 followed, and it was the first weapon which was made both at Springfield and Harpers Ferry armories with parts which were fully interchangeable 2 . This was also the first musket which could be regulated and made in the percussion ignition system by the national armories. It was also the last of the smoothbore 69 caliber muskets. The period between 1844 and 1855 saw a total of two hundred and seventy-five thousand model 1842 musket made with one hundred and three thousand made at the Harpers Ferry while one hundred and seventy-two thousand made at Springfield Armory. The Caliber .54 model 1841 was the first ever rifle to be produced in the percussion ignition system at a national armory. This model was only given to the militia rifle companies in several states until the Mexican War. Model 1841 was produced from 1846bto 1855 by the Harpers Ferry Armory with a total of 25, 296 arms 3 . This model is sometimes called the Mississippi Rifle since the Mississippi regiment successfully used it during the Mexican War under the command of Davis Jefferson. 

In 1855, Davis Jefferson who was then the secretary of War authorized the production of a new model of musket known as .58 caliber rifle musket. This was the first ever weapon to be produced for the general use by the U.S. Army. A version of the rifle was also made to replace the 1841 model. Both the rifle musket and the rifle were equipped with a priming system which would use caps in the lock which advanced whenever the weapon got cocked. During the civil war, the Cavalry used the carbine 4 . By the middle of the war, three carbines were largely used including the sharps which could be loaded with a bullet or a loose powder, the Spencer, a magazine weapon which could hold the metallic cartridge in a tube and Burnside which could also hold the metallic cartridge that could be fired with a percussion cap. The .45 caliber rifle continued to be used with the army until 1894 and with several states until 1905. The model 1884 was the version which was mostly used by both the National Guard and the Regular Army. 

As the socket bayonet started to emerge in the 1880s, the latest version of .45 caliber rifle was also made, and the Model 1888 was made with a ramrod bayonet .30 caliber carbines in 1896, however, replaced this model 5 . The new model was used by the cavalry of the regular army and most of the other volunteer cavalry units in the Spanish American War. Few of the model 1898 carbines were made and issued during the war, and by 1899, a new model called model 1899 carbine took the regular cavalry into the new century war in the Philippines. The U.S. rifle caliber.30 was the first semi-automatic rifle to be issued to infantry in the whole world. Following the end of the First World War, the army started looking for ways of replacing M1903. After robust research, there was development at Springfield Armory with several challenges getting solved. In 1935, a new rifle was yet again cleared for sale. Even so, with the difficulties involved in production and design, the new rifle could not start being used. Eventually, after redesigning of the gas cylinder and the barrel, in 1940, the rifle could then proceed to full production. In 1942, the M3 submachine gun got into the service army service. At the development stage, the design of the weapon focused more on simplified production and employed welding, pressing as well as metal stamping 6 . The weapon also had a mechanism of crank cocking on the right side and telescoping metal wire that featured threads at both the ends. 

The M16 Rifle was the first version that was adopted by the U.S. Air Force in 1964. It had light weight of 5.56 caliber, gas operated, air cooled magazine rifle which had a rotating bolt designed to deal with the gas operation. The weapon was made of steel and aluminum alloy as well as a composite stock. With America's involvement in Vietnam War, the army started to supply the XM16E1 an M16 most of it going to Vietnam 7 . In the mid of 1980s, M16A2 entered into service and fired M855 which was a Belgian designed rifle. The M16A2 could manage three round bursts or semi-automatic fire. 

Commercialization of Weapons 

Throughout history, the world has been at war and nations have had to defend themselves from countries which had the selfish desire to rule other countries and dominate while looking at ways that they can use to manipulate and take resources belonging to other countries. 

With the need of nations to protect themselves from enemy countries, the market for weapons grew quickly. Kingdoms wanted more advanced and sophisticated weapons to destroy their enemies and protect their countries. With time, different nations developed more advanced weapons that they can use to protect themselves. Since the enemy countries come to attack, nations have no option but to respond to war with war. The high demand for the latest and more sophisticated weapons led to a thriving industry. Initially, the weapons were made for the local users, but with time they got sold by the entrepreneurs throughout Europe 8 . The weapon industry was first developed in Belgium since both coal and iron were getting supplied in plenty, and there was good infrastructure transportation of both the raw materials and the finished weapons. The arms industry then spread to France and England. 

By the beginning of the 19th century, weapons were already popular. Countries which had sophisticated weapons were considered more powerful than the ones who did not have the advanced weapons. As many countries desired to become more powerful than the others, they continued developing more advanced weapons. The show of military might was important in determining countries which would be considered superpowers 9 . In many attempts at establishing world dominance, various countries put their powerful foot forward through the use of weapons. While their enemies would easily squash some countries which did not invest in weapons, the ones with more advanced weapons earned respect from all across the globe. In the middle of the 19th century, an international arms trade had strongly been established. It had its elements. For instance, unscrupulous salespeople began to sell defective weapons deliberately because the sales of weapons had already grown 10 . Some salespeople sold the weapons to both the conflicting sides in the war. 

During the 20th century, the rise in dominance of countries was put to the test in 1914 when Archduke Ferdinand of Serbia was assassinated in Sarajevo 11 . This led to the First World War. During that period in history, nations were forced to choose their allegiance. Different countries started sharing their weapons amongst their allies. With time, different nations which had seen many weapons knew what would work for different war scenarios. In 1940, the United States Congress passed a bill that would allow either transfer or sales of the weapons to anyone that America. The arms of the United States soon grew in size supplying France, Britain and the Soviet Union which had a huge number of armaments to help them fight World War II. When Cold War erupted again between the capitals of the West and the Soviet communist union, the United States took it upon them to supply any country which did not support the Soviet Union 12 . The Soviet Union on the other hand also armed their allies who were to support them. 

Impact of Weapons in the Society 

The nature of the modern weaponry has had a detrimental impact on the civilians. Since the Second World War, more than 23 million have been killed out of the war. The accessibility of the modern weapons and the changing nature of violence has polarized religious, ethnic as well as political differences in the world and blurred the separation between a combatant and a civilian 13 . The conflict has stopped being the struggle between ideologies, or even states and instead has become the struggle between cultural identities, power, and power. With some degree of weaknesses in most of the contemporary societies, the level to which human security has been brushed off is linked to the ignition of violence. Societal relation to some degree had reduced interactions and preferred to exercise might. 

The modern weapons have made killing a simple act restrained neither by gender nor age. To shed more light on this, it is estimated that there were more than two hundred thousand children soldiers below the age of fifteen years who fully participated in world conflicts in 1988. With the small caliber weapons, the warfare has greatly changed. One of the most popular weapons, the AK 47, for example, can be reassembled by a child who is below the age of ten years. The connection between technology, convenience and firepower have led to the nondiscriminatory use of very powerful weapons putting the tools of the militants at the hands of the unskilled civilians 14 . The technological advancement of light weapons has increased the level of destructiveness and lethality of the weapons. With the more advanced weapons, it has become immensely difficult to employ societal cohesion. The ease of firepower and the ability to expand ammunition within a shorter time allows for a new set of tactical options as the capabilities of killing has become more efficient than before. As a result, there is the high rise in civilian terror. 

The easy accessibility of more sophisticated weapons has led to the erosion of authority by the states. This is evident in the increase of crime. It is believed widely that whereas guns are not the source of crime, the crime is rooted in the structural forms which sustain the human security in the wide sense. Countries, where there is much warfare, tend to bear the highest rates of crimes 15 . This is because the social relations cannot progress in such countries. The notions of criminal violence which are gun related has allowed for circulation of millions of firearms in private hands. For example, in the United States, most civilians believe that for them to be safe, they need to possess guns for defending themselves. 

Works Cited 

Akoule, Joseph. "Interview on" New developments in conflicts: technology, commercialization and weapons"."  Interviewee's affiliation: Sikom. Kapenguria  18 (2011). 

Alperen, Martin J. "Weapons of Mass Destruction."  Foundations of Homeland Security: Law and Policy : 219-228. 

Harigel, Gert G.  Chemical and Biological Weapons: Use in Warfare, Impact on Society and Environment . Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2001. 

Macintyre, Anthony G., et al. "Weapons of mass destruction events with contaminated casualties: effective planning for health care facilities."  Jama  283.2 (2000): 242-249. 

Polmar, Norman, and R. Norris.  US nuclear arsenal: A history of weapons and delivery systems since 1945 . Washington, DC, 2009. 

Spiers, Edward M. "Weapons of mass destruction."  Weapons of Mass Destruction . Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2000. 1-18. 

1 Harigel, Gert G.  Chemical and Biological Weapons: Use in Warfare, Impact on Society and Environment . Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2001. 

2 Spiers, Edward M. "Weapons of mass destruction."  Weapons of Mass Destruction . Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2000. 1-18. 

3 Harigel, Gert G.  Chemical and Biological Weapons: Use in Warfare, Impact on Society and Environment . Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2001. 

4 Polmar, Norman, and R. Norris.  US nuclear arsenal: A history of weapons and delivery systems since 1945 . Washington, DC, 2009. 

5 Harigel, Gert G.  Chemical and Biological Weapons: Use in Warfare, Impact on Society and Environment . Ibid. 

6 Spiers, Edward M. "Weapons of mass destruction."  Weapons of Mass Destruction . Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2000. 1-18. 

7 Alperen, Martin J. "Weapons of Mass Destruction."  Foundations of Homeland Security: Law and Policy : 219-228. 

8 Spiers, Edward M. "Weapons of mass destruction."  Weapons of Mass Destruction . Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2000. 1-18. 

9 Spiers, Edward M. "Weapons of mass destruction."  Ibid . 

10 Spiers, Edward M. "Weapons of mass destruction."  Weapons of Mass Destruction . Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2000. 1-18. 

11 Polmar, Norman, and R. Norris.  US nuclear arsenal: A history of weapons and delivery systems since 1945 . Washington, DC, 2009. 

12 Alperen, Martin J. "Weapons of Mass Destruction."  Foundations of Homeland Security: Law and Policy : 219-228. 

13 Akoule, Joseph. "Interview on" New developments in conflicts: technology, commercialization and weapons"."  Interviewee's affiliation: Sikom. Kapenguria  18 (2011). 

14 Macintyre, Anthony G., et al. "Weapons of mass destruction events with contaminated casualties: effective planning for health care facilities."  Jama  283.2 (2000): 242-249. 

15 Macintyre, Anthony G., et al. "Weapons of mass destruction events with contaminated casualties: effective planning for health care facilities."  Ibid .