An Odd Thought About War and the Economy

Posted by Lorren on October 30, 2011

I was thinking about war recently, and about how war affects the economy.

When people go to war, the whole country starts to work hard (if the people want to win). For example, in World War II, women went to work in the factories, many of the men went to war, and even the kids got in on the act, collecting things to recycle and use as war materials. People are also willing to sacrifice luxuries and save their money during times of war.

If the wartime economy booms when we are at war because people work hard, wouldn’t economies of the world boom if more people worked harder? I have heard so many people complain over the years about how so many people don’t know how to work hard. Of course, there’s the whole issue of “how do you work hard if you don’t have a job to begin with” that many unemployed people are facing these days. I’ve written articles before about jobs that people can create for themselves. It does take creativity to think up your own job, but it is possible.

I have more work available to me than I could possibly do, running my business.

Wealth is not a fixed pie, where if one person has part of it, somebody else goes without. Wealth is created when people create things. Whether they are producing food, art, content, electronic gadgets, or inventing new and better ways to do things, the more people do, the more wealth we all have. It is true that there is some amount of competition, but we all know that monopolies don’t produce the best results (think DMV).

Do something productive today. Or tomorrow (because today is Sunday, a day of rest for many).