Why Wars Are Not Helping Global Poverty

War and Poverty is an article by Kieran Oberman relating the costs of war to the costs of alleviating poverty. I found this article very interesting and helpful to my research as Oberman agrees with me with several key points, and brings up new interesting points I had not previously considered.

Helping Fix Poverty Saves Lives

On the first page of his article, Oberman writes “Because the poorest people die from easily preventable diseases, addressing poverty is a relatively cheap way to save lives” (Oberman, 2019). He brings up a great point here saying that many people in extreme poverty will die due to diseases such as AIDS, Malaria, Measles, and Tuberculous, diseases that people in developed nations typically do not fear. If these poor nations were able to improve their infrastructure and had better nutrition and clean water, fewer people would die from these diseases and lives would be saved.

Oberman also argues that alleviating poverty is relatively cheap. He writes, “The most cost-effective programs can save lives for as little as $3000 to $4000” (Oberman, 2019). Just this small amount of money can get people in extreme poverty better access to medical care and drastically improve their way of life.

How Expensive Are Wars?

However, oftentimes nations do not prioritize saving lives by alleviating poverty. Instead, this money goes to fighting extremely expensive wars. These wars often cost billions of dollars as pointed out by Oberman’s article. For example, the U.S war in Afghanistan cost 444 billion dollars, and the war in Iraq 806 billion dollars (Oberman, 2019). While this money could have gone to helping reduce poverty by improving education and infrastructure, it instead went to lengthy wars run by the leaders of the countries.

The upfront cost of war is not the only problem. In some cases, war can lead to a recession resulting in more poverty. Oberman points this out saying that Libya was entered into a recession following a war. Another example of this is Germany after WWI. Along with the massive amounts of money a nation spent preparing and fighting in a war, an economic recession can follow increasing poverty further.

Don’t Wars Save Lives?

But don’t wars ultimately save lives? It is true that some wars can save lives, such was the case for those in concentration camps during WWII. However, Oberman argues that it is not the most cost-effective way to save lives. Because war is so expensive and saving lives of the impoverished through better medical care and infrastructure is so relatively cheap, “Alleviating poverty is more cost-effective than war” (Oberman, 2019).

Bottom Line

It should be in the nation's best interest for the wellbeing of their people, to stop wars and violence and instead save more lives of those in poverty. Not only is it cheaper, but will ultimately save more lives in the long run.

References:

Oberman, K. (2019). War and Poverty. Philosophical Studies, 1–12.