To blame war on money and power is cynical and too simple. Sometimes wars are fought because one side miscalculates how far it can push the other. Sometimes wars are fought because of one or both sides inept and arrogant handling of the other. Nations are composed of multiple interests and no war benefits the interests of all the powerful players.
Wars are not fought by democracies without the backing of the populace. If potential draftees move to Canada or demonstrate in large numbers against a war or soldiers desert, prosecution of the war becomes extremely difficult.
At the start of the War Between the States, the South did not secede to initiate a long, bitter, and costly struggle; its leaders expected little opposition. Japan never wanted to fight the U.S. and attacked Pearl Harbor to prevent our entry into the war.
Money and power do not require war. Our two largest territorial acquisitions were the Louisiana Purchase and the purchase of Alaska. Both were bargains, far cheaper than war. Canada achieved independence without war. War creates enmities and complications that far outlast and outweigh the short-term gains envisioned.
Personally, I am glad my great-grandfather emigrated to the United States rather than accepting being drafted into the Czar's army and fighting to save one other from being drafted. So are the other one hundred of his descendants.
If you must fight, fight for sanity by civil disobedience,
S
