Viewing war as an economic issue is only relevant to rational resource users. The Nazis wanted to get rid of all non-Aryan races, not to mention "l;ebensraum" by acquiring land in Eastern Europe. Muslims once wanted Christendom to be either converted to Islam or subjugated. The US Civil War was over slavery (mostly), and the English…
Viewing war as an economic issue is only relevant to rational resource users. The Nazis wanted to get rid of all non-Aryan races, not to mention "l;ebensraum" by acquiring land in Eastern Europe. Muslims once wanted Christendom to be either converted to Islam or subjugated. The US Civil War was over slavery (mostly), and the English Civil War was over the power of the King vs Parliament. Ideology, religion, and similar motives are not subject to rational economic analysis. Humans are tribal. Humans are emotional, despite the myth of the "Rational Man". We have evolved from animals that do not have the cognitive tools to evaluate consequences beyond the immediate - more food and security for the "winners" of conflict now, not to mention more offspring driven by the imperative of gene replication.
Viewing war as an economic issue is only relevant to rational resource users. The Nazis wanted to get rid of all non-Aryan races, not to mention "l;ebensraum" by acquiring land in Eastern Europe. Muslims once wanted Christendom to be either converted to Islam or subjugated. The US Civil War was over slavery (mostly), and the English Civil War was over the power of the King vs Parliament. Ideology, religion, and similar motives are not subject to rational economic analysis. Humans are tribal. Humans are emotional, despite the myth of the "Rational Man". We have evolved from animals that do not have the cognitive tools to evaluate consequences beyond the immediate - more food and security for the "winners" of conflict now, not to mention more offspring driven by the imperative of gene replication.