The Economics of War - Research Paper Example

? and Section # of Full of the Assignment Introduction Ever since man came on earth, he has been struggling for food, shelter, respect and other things. This has made him ignorant and selfish and in his ignorance he often harms the others around him. This has been the cause of rivalries and disputes since stone ages. As man progressed, the causes of these fights changed from the desire of just food and shelter to the desire of power, nuclear weaponry and other advanced and rare possessions. This led to disagreements on a greater scale and hence wars between nations. The causes of war have been different over the years and so have been their consequences. While come believe that wars are wrong no matter why they are caused and what is gained out of them; others believe that all’s well that ends well. But wars have never ended in good only. When it has resulted in a power fight and one nation seems to have won it, it has also lost the blood of many of its dedicated soldiers and other innocent nationals of its area. These days, almost every nation is equipped with nuclear weaponry making wars more deadly than ever. The first nuclear attack in the world was on Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the time of the end of World War 1. It marked the end of these cities and the civilizations that nurtured there. With the years going by, nuclear weaponry has only improved, thereby, indicating that now if one nation decided to blow up another using its nuclear power, it most likely to destruct a large part of the globe (Poast, 115). Indeed, the loss will be much greater in emotional, financial and earthy sense than anyone can imagine. This is why it is very important for nations to carefully understand the economics of war before indulging themselves in such an activity. We are here not only to conquer places and make money but also to learn to live in harmony with each other. Every nation, color, creed and civilization is different from the other but this is no excuse for a war, we need to understand and accept these differences and in fact cherish them (Walzer, 200). Economics of war The most fundamental concept of Economics is of opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is the cost of what we forgo for what we gain or hope to gain from anything that we consume or purchase or decide about. For example, if a nation wishes to indulge in a war with another nation, it needs to first evaluate what it may gain. It may achieve success, money, land, power, slaves etc. it also needs to evaluate what it may lose in the process. And it may lose all that it may gain in addition to the lives of many innocent people. Also, it would waste its time and resources which may have been put to better use otherwise(Arnson, 45). Thus this evaluation of economics of war is essential for all the nations today. Any nation that decides to posing a war without thinking of its consequences will be doing more harm to itself and the world than it can imagine. Wastage of scarce resources The world is full of scarce resources. We need to use them very carefully or we will deprive ourselves and our coming generations of blessings like electricity, locomotives and other machines that make our lives much easier. Wars on the other hand require a lot of resources, a lot more than we can otherwise imagine consuming in the same time frame. Thus, when indulging in warfare, a country needs to be sure what it is at the risk of losing. Weaponry is expensive so is fuel that is used to drive large tanks and nuclear weapons and missiles are very expensive and destructive. A country may very well use the economic resources that it plans on warfare to improving its own nation’s industries, roads, parks and other national amenities thereby improving the living standard of its nationals (Egnal, 314). The world is a global village. We all live in a very interrelated surrounding. The ecosystem is balanced because one thing supports the other. It is all like a large heap of books, one on the other. The war may be a blow to the ecosystem, destructing it for every one of us, more severely than we would ever have imagined. According to the analogy provided, it is equivalent to trying to extract a book from that huge heap of books and ending up destructing the whole heap because every book balanced on the next. Too much of state money and effort going into defense The world is not anybody’s stage. We are all players here and if any one tries to make our lives difficult, we will react by doing the same to him. It is very astutely said that as you sow, so shall you reap. Thus if one nation, or a group of nations pose war against another group, they should be prepared to invest a lot of money and hard work in its defense and military spheres. It should be willing to give up on educating its younger generation since it would be difficult hiring a lot of teachers and making a lot of schools when a large chunk from the nation’s budget will be going to improve the defense and military services of the nation. It will have to impose some conditions forcefully, perhaps like China, which earlier imposed a government law saying that at least one child from every set of parents in the country will have to be admitted in the army. Such laws may be unacceptable to people today but nonetheless they will have to be imposed if war is inevitable. The country will have to forgo improving its infrastructure and other state industries since all its capital will have to go in buying weapons and arms to destruct its so proclaimed enemies. The country’s soldiers will have to be on the best foot all the time. They will have to be extremely vigilant. In most cases, all of the country’s army men are sent to the borders since a war is expected or in progress. This gives a chance to all the local thieves and wrongdoers to rob from local places causing haphazardness and disorder in the nation (Ekelund, 221). The tranquility and peace of the nation is crumbled by the hands of its rulers who prefer a war instead of wisely deciding an alternative. Foreign earnings drop Foreign exchange earnings and remittances are an important part of any country’s economy. This strongly suffers if the country is at war because in such a case, other countries refrain from buying goods from its rival, thereby affecting its trade and then furthermore, tourists and other holiday trips by foreigners are postponed or relocated thereby affecting its tourism industry. The country’s foreign exchange earnings drop and so does its economic standing. It may be producing good quality goods which are left to rot in its home country. For example, when the British came to take over the subcontinent, the Indians highly disapproved of the idea. They began a movement called the Swadeshi movement whereby they banned Indians from using all British goods. Though British goods may have been better but this bias of the Indians against the British got them to take such a drastic step. Later, during the war of Independence of 1897, the Indians accused the British of using guns with cartridges that were greased will cow and pig fat. Pigs are forbidden for Muslims and cows are sacred for Hindus thereby enraging both the religions. Therefore, even the Indian nobles and soldiers refused to use those guns (Schrich, 32). Thus if a country aims for a war, it needs to decide whether it has enough reserves that it can let go off its financial growth for a substantial time even after the war and still not be vulnerable with its people dying of famines and helplessness. International Relations disturbed If a country decided to get in a war with another country, it needs to realize that it will not be just two countries fighting against each other. Many a times, other nations do tend to extend their cooperation and support in the favor of other nations. This leads to grouping and hence greater rivalries once the war seizes. For example, by the end of World War 1, Germany realized it was not only on war with the Americans but many other nations that sided with them. Thus the wars lead to the formation of world powers such as the Americans and earlier the Russians. Had there not be any wars, no nation would have had an edge in power over the other (Walzer, 200). Being in a global village, we need to ensure we have cordial relations with the rest of the world but being in a war destructs the international relations of any country. Its repute worldwide is crumpled and nations that demand world peace tend to stay away. Also, other world powers may seem to be helpful but then they just pity the smaller nations thereby throwing them in the vicious circle of living aloof from the rest of the world. Its students don’t get visas and hence cannot go for better studies abroad. Its patients are not treated by the world’s best doctors since educated and peace loving people prefer to stay away. And most of all, its governments are condemned by other nations shattering the self confidence of the whole nation and making it realize that it stands nowhere in the line of progressing nations. Its progress is stagnated as its international relations crumble apart. Inflation- Buying too little from too much money Since the last decade, recession and inflation have been tied to the world so tightly that its grip is firm now. Despite the recent contemplations about deflation, it has been observed that wars are always inflationary. Money chases fewer goods as the labor and capital goods are devoted to buying weaponry and securing defense strategies and methodologies. This boosts the costs of establishing businesses and squeezes profits (Singer, 78). The war on Iraq by the United States has led to a unconceivable rise in prices of metal and other military equipment. The oil prices are ever increasing causing a huge problem for OPEC which aims to distribute oil at nominal prices to the developing nations. More than that, most Iraqi families have lost the male members who were the bread earners of the family leaving the rest of the family vulnerable in the hands of ever surging prices of even the most ordinary commodities like matchsticks. Conclusion Therefore, what we should conclude is that many of us study economics and ace it. Very few understand it. Wars have been a common phenomenon in the past and will always be an option for the nations to end their differences. However easy and bright this option may seem in the first eye, it is disastrous in a lot of ways. Hence wars should be avoided at all costs. They crumble the economy of the world and bring the world back by a decade or two in its progress and state of development. This backwardness may increase by many folds in magnitude depending on the type and duration of the war. The world at present needs a state of ease and contention. We should aim and work for world peace and appreciate and celebrate each other’s differences. The world would have been a boring place had there been so many copies of one of us. We should find the beauty in the eccentricities and celebrate being unique. In case of any disagreements, an educated and well defined talk can be carried out by the rulers. They should analyze the matter fairly and decide accordingly. Also, it needs to be ensured that the decisions taken are in the best interest of the public and are ones that promote peace and living in harmony with each other. References Poast, Paul. The Economics of War. Mc Graw Hill. 2005. Walzer, Michael. Just and Unjust Wars. Basic Books. 2006. Arnson, Cynthia & Zartman, William. Rethinking the Economics of War. The John Hopkins University Press. 2005. Egnal, Marc. Clash of Extremes. Hill and Wang. 2010. Ekelund, Robert. Tariffs, Blockads and Inflation: The Economics of War. SR Books. 2004. Schrich, Lisa. Strategic Peacebuilding. Good Books. 2005. Walzer, Michael. Arguing About War. Yale University Press. 2006. Singer, Peter. One World: The ethics of Globalization. Yale University Press. 2004. Read More