English
The relationship of war and the economy is a fundamental interconnection of science. The course and outcome of the war, the victory or the defeat of the state are determined by various factors, among which economic factor is crucial. Economics of a country has a decisive influence on the course of social progress and it defines the development of the country no matter how influential the political and other factors are.
In this essay, we will try to answer one of the most anticipated questions: ‘What the money is used for?’. That is why for you to understand the whole picture we would like to provide some numbers. The United States spent more than 4.4 trillion dollars on the wars in Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Of course, this number includes veterans care, foreign assistances and so on. What is more interesting is that the war was almost completely paid by borrowings. It is obvious, that such borrowings increase the national debt and affect the economy. So, why do countries need it?
Actually, the economics of war is not only about where to find money for guns and tanks. It is a kind of common misconception. Due to David Friedman (1984), the economy of war deals with the objectives of an individual and the ways the individual chooses to achieve them. It is not about buying a tank and a gun. It consists a lot of aspects like how far the tank will shoot, how to find someone who will shoot, and what is more important – how to find someone who will shoot in the right direction (David Friedman, 1984).
Still, talking about money we have to add that it comprise different kinds of loans (compulsory, foreign, voluntary domestic), taxation, and, of course, a creation of money. War economics or finance is one of the branches of defense economics. Defense economics deals with spending and budget in wartime; and it deals with the management of military spending at peacetime (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015).
Inexpensive war is an outrageous lie. War causes death and what can be more expensive that a human life? We cannot measure such thing as a human life but we can count the cost of war for society. Let us dive into the actual things the money is spent for.
Firstly, war causes immeasurable destruction. It destructs roads, buildings, bridges, technique, monuments to the past, and so on. Even the most influential countries with stable economy could not deal with it. Still, the poorest countries suffer the most.
Secondly, a cost of weapons, good, supply is huge. Everything that people need in everyday life reduces in the favor of the army. Metal is used for tanks, fuel for military transportations, and so on. Consumption of civil people doesn’t matter in the time of war. Finally, it also comprises life-long spending for the families of those who died on the battlefield and for those who were seriously injured and need permanent medical treatment (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015).
Economic Effects of War
Taking into consideration spending mentioned above, we can expand on the most common consequences of every war. The first one is inflation. Inflation is an inevitable part of war. It pushes up prices and reduces living standards. The inflation during a war was described in ancient China by, at that time prominent strategist Sun Tzu. He said that you can see where the army is by price change, and as prices rise the well-being of people lowers (Tzu Sun, c.400 BCE). The best way to get money for war is to raise taxes. It is a common practice during the wartime. In modern society war also causes the fuel inflation.
The second consequence is capital depletion. It is a destruction of factories and farms. For example, World War I diminished French production by more than a half. After some researches the total cost of World War I was almost $400 billion. Capital depletion always causes great unemployment. That is why, as it was already mentioned, the poorest countries suffered the most. The most influential States knew the danger of capital depletion and tried to fight beyond their borders (Joshua S. Goldstein, 2004).
War reduces innovation
In fact, military spending lead to the decline of sectors of the economy, not related to the war - they just do not have enough money and staff. The well-known American author and UCLA professor Chalmers Johnson (2016) explained that war is bad for the industry and innovation. It is impossible to come up with new products with a shortage of workers and money.
The war drives authorities into debt
Nobel laureate in economics Paul Krugman, for several years, explained why the war cannot benefit the economy. In his opinion, it simply cannot stimulate economic growth.
In August, in his column in the New York Times, he reiterated his point of view. The reason for writing it was the conflict in Ukraine. In his opinion, even a small victorious war will not bring benefits to the wealthy country today. States in the world economy are closely linked with each other. In such a world, any damage that would be caused to the loser will have an impact on the winner.
Wars, according to Krugman, occur simply because people do not understand this complex arithmetic. Politicians incorrectly assess the duration of wars and try to obtain political benefits without worrying about the economy (Paul Krugman, 2014).
Finally, it is hard to believe after everything that was written above but war can also have positive economic effects. War reduces unemployment among men. Conscription gives men to earn money for their families. Also, war inspires patriotism which in its turn inspires hard work for less money.
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
We cannot actually mention any reasonable pieces of evidence to prove that there is a point in a war. And I am not talking about the economics and money that war brings to or takes off the authorities. I’m talking about human lives. For people who are or were at a war will say unanimously that war has no sense. This is what The Yellow Birds is about. In a nutshell, Kevin Powers battled in Iraq. In his debut novel, he described a friendship between the two American soldiers during the dirty war, deprived of any sense. At the end of his book, the author has made a stunning confession: he considers himself a lucky one. After reading the book this sounds like an eerie joke. The book ‘Yellow Birds’ is full of horrific scenes. Two old men, despite the white flags on their car riddled with bullets. Cute young nurse torn to pieces with a grenade, and what was left of the body lain in a sprinkling with the blood grass (Kevin Powers, 2013).
This is what I actually was going to say. No matter what the good consequences or the bad consequences of war are. There is no difference for those who fight for nothing. Every war will damage the economy of both sides. Still, the wars are exasperated and people dies for nothing.
Works Cited
Defense economics". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 03 April. 2016
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 03 April. 2016
Goldstein, Joshua S. " War and Economic History ". The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History, ed. Joel Mokyr (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Web.
Johnson, Chalmers. "Why The US Has Really Gone Broke - Le Monde Diplomatique - English Edition". Mondediplo.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
Krugman, Paul. "Why We Fight Wars". Nytimes.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
Powers, Kevin. The Yellow Birds. Print.
War finance. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
