Normal War: Consequences

War is such an encompassing term for violence, brutality and carnage that even a metaphorical usage of the word elicits a feeling of awe. Most succinctly, death and devastation are direct consequences of war. But despite the magnitude of the damages caused, no accurate rendering of death or damage can be calculated. A general figure stated is that since the Roman civilization began its conquering, well over 500 million people have died. Such a figure is more than twice the total population for the United States in 2005. No figure can be approximated for damages insofar as its total would be so astronomical.

It can thus be easily understood that war is a direct destroyer of physiological human lives world-over. However, it also bears significant economic and political implications. War is an immense money vacuum. Machinery, weapons, troops, vehicles and other war necessities must all be bought with money that, for the most part, far exceeds a government’s normal means. For example, the United States' war and mission in Iraq costs the country nearly 6 billion US Dollars each month, a sum exceeding some countries' Gross Domestic Product.

Economic implications also occur in that business, offices and homes can be left in ruins through war. After the fighting is done, countries often lose their primary monetary base because of all the destruction, and are forced into destitute conditions not of their own choice. Additionally, if a country was generally prosperous and forward moving before becoming involved in a war, then they would be enjoying the benefits of international investment, Essentially, other countries would invest their money in that country, hoping to reap the benefits of further progress and development. However, after a war, most countries lose a substantial amount, if not all, of this investment as other nations no longer feel that improvement and progress will occur anymore. This is often one of the more damaging economic implications of war as it affects each person in a particular country through a decreased quality or standard of living.

Political implications are less various, but far more complex. Diplomatic entanglements and associations realistically dominate inter-governments organizations. Thus, if one country enters a war with another country, they are not only attacking that country, but also all of its allies and joint nations. Additionally, a nation, after war (whether it was the instigator or the country attacked), will have to answer for its conduct during the fighting. After World War II, for example, Germans, for many years, had to live with the fact that their military regime brutally executed millions of innocent minorities, simply on a leader’s whim. Germany was branded as a cruel area, and following the war, they were under the subjugation of foreign powers (the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, namely) and lost some degree of their national autonomy.

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