War profiteering and economic motivations in conflict

War Benefits

War's Benefits to the Elite

Few people would outwardly say that they are for war. There are, of course, the standard equivocations -- war is the price we pay for freedom; some evils and injustices morally require the use of force to correct them; physical violence is the only force that means anything when others are wiling to use it (i.e. when someone is willing to kill you, you have an obligation to defend yourself, with violence if necessary). But no one really comes out and says that war is a good thing through and through. The bravery and honor that men show on the battlefield make up the subject of many poems and stories (especially of the bygone eras), and the action of battles has made for compelling entertainment at least since the time of the Romans, but the gladiators and soldiers themselves weren't known for their actual enjoyment and moral approval of their positions of violence and authority. So though it may be possible to acquit oneself well in war, such massive violence and international conflicts are not regularly praised in and of themselves.

The evils of war, in contrast, are regularly expounded in many works of literature and art of the twentieth century. This represents a shift, to some degree, in the mood of the time, but more than this it reflects a shift in the types of people engaging in art, and the thoughts propagated therein. The disillusionment brought on by the First and Second World Wars had a large hand in this. At the same time the Industrial Revolution can also be seen to have had a large hand in this shift as well; there was a large degree of democratization and an increased availability of cheap means by which to disseminate information, which meant that the common man had more access both to reading and to producing literature -- a pursuit heretofore reserved for the aristocracy. The perceived changing attitudes about war, tehn, do not necessarily reflect a change in attitude, but perhaps a change in whose attitude was paid attention to.

The reasons for this difference in the perspective towards war between the elite of the power structure and the common man become quite clear with even the most cursory examination. First, there is the obvious fact that, for most of ths history of civilization and even today, militaries are made up of men (and, increasingly, women) from the lower socio-economic classes of society. Aristocrats and other privileged members of society often became officers, but for the most part they were removed from the real danger of battle, and in fact were far more likely to be taken as hostages as a means to force surrender than they were to be killed. Privileged members of society today also often manage to serve the military in less dangerous positions -- such as in the National Guard, for example. The detriment this carries for the lower classes is one major factor in the differing perspectives towards war.

An arguably even stronger influence, however, comes from the other side of the economic railroad tracks. Though few come out and say it, it is likely that many of the elite members of society approve of war not out of any sense of nobility or honor, but because war has direct extrinsic benefits for them. These benefits are both political and economic in nature, and tend to positively affect all of the elite -- those at the top of the economic, political, and military ladders. There is often, of course, a great overlap in these areas of power, which only makes the problem that much worse (Mooney & Knox 2007). It might at first be difficult to see how widespread death and destruction could benefit anyone, but it is actually quite simple.

The simplest and most sinister benefit is the economic one. War leads to huge increases in production and employment -- there are tanks, guns, and ammunition to be built, and this requires factories with groups of workers. There are also the soldiers that need to be clothed and fed, and all of the movements of troops and supplies requires some form of energy (usually derived from oil). All of these things require heavy amount of government spending, and the companies that receive these government contracts -- and the people that get the profits from these companies -- benefit hugely. The economy as a whole also tends to benefit from the increased spending, but even these benefits are soaked up more by those at the top.