Is War Good or Bad
Can war be seen as a Positive Influence?
Mihye Chung
DP1 History
13.09.2013
The ongoing debate, is war good or bad? Usually if we see or hear the word “war” we think about the negative sides first. There is a saying that a forest fire burns everything in its path and it does destroy the forest but out of the ashes comes new life. War is similar to this. Out of destruction comes a new beginning. A country can benefit from war, by gaining wealth or freedom, increasing in power, and advancing in technology. But the reason why war seems only negative is because there is also destruction where millions of innocent people die, losing their resources and time, and also their money. Not only within the country but the whole world could be affected by war economically and socially. There are plenty of reasons why war is a bad thing. One main thing that comes to us directly and painfully is the death of the loved ones. Wars may solve problems but in the process it kills millions of people so war is cruel. A good example is the WW2, almost 50-60 million people died. Also in a war, the country has to spend a lot of money. It needs to provide weapons like tanks missiles etc., and it needs as many troops as possible. As Chinese strategist Tzu Sun said, "Where the army is, prices are high; when prices rise the wealth of the people is exhausted" (Tzu Sun, c.400 BCE). For the citizens this is very disappointing because all this money would eventually come from raised taxes and instead this could be spent on poor and uneducated people. As I said, war brings destruction. Inflation is also a problem. For example after the Angola’s Civil War, their currency was so useless that bottles of beer replaced it. Special landmarks, farms, and firms could be destroyed and the country could lose a lot of its resources. After the war, usually the country goes in a huge debt. On the other hand, war could be seen as a positive influence. Wars exist because people cannot agree on
Mihye Chung
DP1 History
13.09.2013
The ongoing debate, is war good or bad? Usually if we see or hear the word “war” we think about the negative sides first. There is a saying that a forest fire burns everything in its path and it does destroy the forest but out of the ashes comes new life. War is similar to this. Out of destruction comes a new beginning. A country can benefit from war, by gaining wealth or freedom, increasing in power, and advancing in technology. But the reason why war seems only negative is because there is also destruction where millions of innocent people die, losing their resources and time, and also their money. Not only within the country but the whole world could be affected by war economically and socially. There are plenty of reasons why war is a bad thing. One main thing that comes to us directly and painfully is the death of the loved ones. Wars may solve problems but in the process it kills millions of people so war is cruel. A good example is the WW2, almost 50-60 million people died. Also in a war, the country has to spend a lot of money. It needs to provide weapons like tanks missiles etc., and it needs as many troops as possible. As Chinese strategist Tzu Sun said, "Where the army is, prices are high; when prices rise the wealth of the people is exhausted" (Tzu Sun, c.400 BCE). For the citizens this is very disappointing because all this money would eventually come from raised taxes and instead this could be spent on poor and uneducated people. As I said, war brings destruction. Inflation is also a problem. For example after the Angola’s Civil War, their currency was so useless that bottles of beer replaced it. Special landmarks, farms, and firms could be destroyed and the country could lose a lot of its resources. After the war, usually the country goes in a huge debt. On the other hand, war could be seen as a positive influence. Wars exist because people cannot agree on