AW: [thechat] Arguments for war

[Eike Pierstorff]

> The Marshall plan grew out of an understanding that we failed after WWI.
>   We conquered but then we went into isolationist mode.  Because of the
> isolationism, there was economic depression and a complete power vacuum
> within Germany.  This directly lead to the rise of Nazi Germany.  ESR is
> saying that you don't win and then wander off and that if you want
> things to go your way, it works alot better if you have a plan for
> rebuilding immediately after finishing a war.

The Marshall plan was a failure, mainly because the promised help arrived to
late to do any good. What brought german economy back to it's feet was the
war in Korea. When US industry wasn't able to provide consumer goods
(because they had to provide war equipment) Germany had a nice profit on
exports to the USA.

And if anybody wants to spend billions of dollars to rebuild destroyed
countries, he does not have to go to war first - there's an ample supply of
destroyed countries in Africa, South America and the former USSR. Whow
knows - helping those countries might even be a way to prevent war.

-- eike