"All wars are economic in origin."
~ Kieran J. Carroll, Ph.D.
I was in high school during one of my out-of-town uncle's weekend visits when he asked me what subjects I was taking. Outside of the usual three-R curriculum, I was in an Economics class. This sounded more adult and exotic to my teenaged ears, so I mentioned that first.
Uncle Kieran was superintendent of schools in his home county in Maryland. He was also a history scholar; his doctoral dissertation was on Augustin Thierry (look him up). My point is, when my uncle made a statement on academics, I listened. When I told him I was taking Economics, he immediately waved his arm dismissively. "All wars are economic in origin. That's what you need to know about economics." He immediately asked me what else I was studying, as if challenging me to present him with a subject not quite so predictable as economics.
Why do we remember certain moments so vividly, and completely forget so many others? It's one of life's mysteries. But I've always remembered Uncle Kieran's sweeping definition of economics as the seeds of war. Today, in Ukraine, I am watching that lesson unfold in real time.
To the victor belongs the spoils. Wars enrich the victors, who are often tyrants such as Putin. Even if the victory is short-lived, the winner triumphs in land, power, prestige and resources. Oil production and usage is an obvious source of this particular conflict. The United States has the means to combat this, but the current administration is a slave to the radical "green" interests of their left-wing contributors. Bidin does not want to lose those many millions of donor dollars.
All wars are economic in origin. In the case of the feeble US response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war is economic in continuation, too.
