18/10/2023
There is a concept in economics, known as the "Broken Window Fallacy".
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Consider this scenario, a young boy accidentally breaks a window.
Spectators in the town believe that this incident inadvertently benefits the community, as the boy's father will need to hire the town's glazier to repair the broken window.
The glazier, in turn, will inject the earnings into other local businesses, effectively kickstarting the local economy having a multiplier effect.
Over time, the observers begin to think that breaking windows has a positive impact on economic stimulation.
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Parallels can be drawn between this situation and war. A school of thought believes war is good for the economy.
That it creates demand for arms, ammunition, clothing, industry, chemicals and others.
What is not immediately apparent is that the opportunity cost of this demand:
- lower spending on important aspects like healthcare & education. These are foundations for a strong economy.
- capital used for repairing & rebuilding war time destruction could have been used for producing goods and services which has higher utility.
Imagine the father who is forced to spend on repairing the window now has to cut down on expenses that may impact others in the town, like shoemakers, cloth merchants who have lower sales.
In the long term, this opportunity cost & upkeep is more detrimental than the short surge in economic activity.