There are libertarians, starting with P J O'Rourke, who maintain that growing economies do not get attacked by other nations, as they exude a strength that says "hands off." The growth is more important than the size, in that calculation. I don't think that's entirely true, yet I think it is partly true.
It's partly true for a couple of reasons. One is that growing economies have little interest in risking that prosperity by attacking another polity.
Another reason is that the growing prosperity makes it easier for the polity to acquire the wherewithal to defend itself. Scrooge McDuck's unlocked and unguarded bank vault would be an invasion target regardless of McD's wealth or how rapidly it might be growing.
Which means that some of that growing economy's output needs to be devoted to the consumables of defense. Growers are unlikely to attack, but they're still subject to being attacked. Their very success makes them targets.
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There are libertarians, starting with P J O'Rourke, who maintain that growing economies do not get attacked by other nations, as they exude a strength that says "hands off." The growth is more important than the size, in that calculation. I don't think that's entirely true, yet I think it is partly true.
It's partly true for a couple of reasons. One is that growing economies have little interest in risking that prosperity by attacking another polity.
Another reason is that the growing prosperity makes it easier for the polity to acquire the wherewithal to defend itself. Scrooge McDuck's unlocked and unguarded bank vault would be an invasion target regardless of McD's wealth or how rapidly it might be growing.
Which means that some of that growing economy's output needs to be devoted to the consumables of defense. Growers are unlikely to attack, but they're still subject to being attacked. Their very success makes them targets.
Eric Hines
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