Many people talk about the cost of war. This phrase is actually often used to refer to the human cost of waging conflict, and how war kills people and destroys lives. Although the human cost of war is obviously enormous, the material and financial costs of war is also high. In fact, waging war is one of the most expensive things a nation scan do. But why? Why are wars so expensive? Well, let us explain…
1. Huge Number of Soldiers Need to Be Paid
A first reason why wars are expensive is because large numbers of soldiers need to be paid to fight.
Wars are fought by competing armies – often with hundreds of thousands of people on each side. All soldiers receive a salary. It is expensive for countries to fight wars because the state must find the financial resources to pay for the solider in its army.
As well as having to pay frontline soldiers to fight in wars, militaries also need a huge number of support staff. Everything from logistics personnel to chefs are needed to ensure an army is fully supported. Armies have tens of thousands of support staff, and all of these people must receive a salary as well. This adds significantly to the cost of fighting a war.
Almost every country in the world has a standing army – often made up of volunteer professional soldiers. However, at times of war, most nations draft additional conscripts into their armed forces to increase their strength. Even soldiers conscripted must receive a salary. This is another reason why wars are so expensive.
2. Military Equipped Must Be Purchased
A second reason why wars are so expensive is because armies need to be equipped in order to fight.
Militaries require a huge range of equipment. Guns, tanks, lorries, airplanes, ships, artillery pieces and rockets are just some examples of the types of equipment that armies need to fight wars. Military equipment is hugely expensive. Vehicles can cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to produce. Aircraft and ships can cost billions of dollars. The cost of equipping an army is a major reason why wars are so expensive.
During a war armies lose a lot of equipment, especially during battle. This means countries must continuously fund the replacement of military equipment throughout a conflict. This is enormously expensive.
Many wars are lost and won on a country’s ability to continuously equip their armies. Essentially, the country that can mobilise the most financial and material resources to ensure their military has the equipment it needs to win the war comes out victorious. This means country’s spend huge sums of military equipment during wars, and this a major reason why they are expensive.
3. New Military Technology Needs to Be Developed
A third reason why wars are so expensive is because countries must continuously develop new military technology in order to come out victorious.
In modern conflicts, the nation with the most advanced military technology almost always wins. Ensuring that a country’s military is equipped with the latest advanced equipment is vital. Militaries must continuously develop new technologies in order to remain competitive. This is hugely expensive.
When a nation is at war, the need for new and even more advanced military technology becomes critical. New military equipment can give a fighting army an enormous advantage over their enemies. However, this means that nations at war must devote even more financial resources into creating new military technology. This is a major reason why wars are so expensive.
Throughout history, advances in military technology have almost always propelled a nation to victory in war. Modern military technology is extremely expensive to develop, test, produce and roll-out to a nation’s armed forces. Although nations know they must provide newer and more advanced technologies to their fighting armies, doing this comes at huge financial cost.
4. Wars Can Last for Many Years
Another reason why wars are so expensive is because they can last for a long time.
Although there are some short wars in history, for example the Six Days War, the Football War and the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, most wars have lasted for many years. In fact, major recent conflicts, including World War Two, The Vietnam War and the Syrian Civil War, have all lasted more than five years, some more than ten.
Wars are expensive because countries must continue to fund their armies, including paying salaries and replenishing equipment, for the entire duration of the war. If a war lasts for many years, this can be an enormous financial commitment for a state. However, any country that fails to continuously fund their military for the entire during of a conflict is bound to lose, and so nations commit enormous sums of money often for many years when at war.
Fighting a war is an enormous financial commitment for a country. Wars are expensive because countries must ensure that the government directs the funds that the armed forces needs for the entirety of the war, almost no matter how long the conflict lasts.
5. Reconstruction Is Needed After Fighting
A further reason why wars are expensive is because countries must fund reconstruction after the conflict.
Wars cause an enormous amount destruction. Homes, businesses, infrastructure, and crops are all devastated in wars. Modern conflicts often cover enormous areas as air strikes and rockets allow armies to hit targets far from their current locations. Wars are expensive because rebuilding after the conflict can cost huge sums of money.
Although in modern times the international community assists countries recovering from wars, often the funding provided is not enough. Many times, nations ravished by wars must fund the reconstruction of their cities and agricultural sectors themselves. This can have long lasting economic impacts on a country and adds enormously to the huge cost of fighting a war.
In some historical cases, such as after World War One, nations that have lost wars have been forced to pay reparations to victorious powers, partly to cover the cost of reconstruction. This is another factor that can makes wars extremely expensive for countries that lose.
6. Economies Are Hurt by Conflict
A final reason why wars are so expensive is because of the economic impact conflicts have.
A country’s economy is made up of the wealth generated by the nation’s citizens. When a county is hit by war, economic activity is badly affected. In areas of fighting people are often forced to flee, businesses are closed, and infrastructure is damaged. Even in areas away from fighting, economic activity is often directed towards the war effort or is curtailed as people are affected by the conflict.
Wars cost huge sums of money for countries because of the affect they have on economic activity. Almost every country that has experienced war has seen its economy shrink. People simply cannot continue to be productive whilst conflict rages around them. The huge negative impact wars have on a nation’s economy adds to the huge costs of fighting conflicts.
As well as the direct economic hit that conflict has on affected nations, often countries struggle to rebuild their economies after the fighting has stopped. Many wars leave lasting economic damage that can hold a country’s development back for decades. This is a further reason why wars can be so expensive.