Why War for Wealth Has Fallen out of Fashion

Feb 10, 2020 | Charles Kenny
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As the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq drag towards their third decade, and Syria’s civil war ticks towards 400,000 dead, it may seem trite to observe that nobody really “wins” a war. But it nonetheless represents a significant historic change, and one that can help account both for the fact that the number of wars is declining as well as the type and location of wars that remain. War always has been “negative sum,” in that any resource gain to the victor was matched by an equal loss to the loser and both sides paid in lives and arms. But those who prevailed on the battlefield could more than compensate for their military costs through occupation, plunder and enslavement.