The costs of war

Abstract

The human, environmental and economic costs of warare so great that it is hard to see why people everchoose to fight. Death tolls are only one element. Lifefor the 'survivors', often maimed, widowed, or formerchild soldiers, is harsh. On top come the dollar costsmeasured in billions.In our topsy-turvy world we spend hugeamounts of money on men and mortars, yet verylittle to prevent bloodshed. No-one doubts thatpreventing war is vastly cheaper than mopping upafterwards. Yet to date the world has not been ableto devise a political - or should that be economic?- system which favors peace. The current patternof sovereign nation states enables fighting betweenthem but does not make prevention of war a commongoal. The ED is in an experiment in a new systembeyond the nation state which has yet to be tried inother regions. Within nations War Offices may havebecome Ministries of Defense but Departments ofPeace are still only a dream.