reached or is it approaching a $ratershed on the other side of which further escalations in military outlays' or the ground rules deternining then, will be quite different from uhat they have been up to now? lly 80. one such major watershed has been approached aPparently in terms of a near universal lreakening in the process of economic growth as reflected ln the rates of irrcrease in the gross natio-nal product (GNP). In assessing lhe staters caPability to perforn lts security function as a part of its $elfare conrni tnent ' the ltrost relevant economic measure is that of the GNP' that ls, the total anount of goods and services its econony can produce and tlirect tdrards nEeting a nar situation. A Iogical corolLary of this in P€ace-t ime, therefore, is a sustained if not accelerating rate of growth of GNP because no econony, hdtever it is nanaged t can ultinately ;utspendl iis GNP for military outlays. This may. in principlel happen if the rates of increase in rnilitary outlays are constantly higher than the rates of lncreaae in the GNP. 81. tbr several years, the world econony has experlenced a continuous Process of slor,, or ileclining gronth. The events of 1980 and 1981 narked a aecond najor €etback. The grorrth of vrorld outPut, r+hich had declined from 4'6 Per cent in 1978 to 3.8 per cent in 1979, alroPPed to 2.2 per cent in l98O' This slow-doffn in the rate of gronthr Lhough different in various najor groups of countries and geographic areas, was a world-ride Phenonenon. The general deterioration in growth performance was acconpanied by a very narked decrease ln the exPansion of norld trade' by groning balance-of-Paynents problens and by higb inflation-rates in tr6st countrie!, The rate of increisl ln thi volume of norld exports' ln fact, fell to
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the relationship between economic growth and military outlays, with a focus on the impact of economic growth on a country's ability to finance its security functions. The text also mentions the decline of the world economy's growth rate and its implications on trade and inflation. The language and concepts used suggest that the text is primarily concerned with economic issues.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade