The Bunker – News without the nonsense Does money really decide wars? Strange tales from the Vikings to the Luftwaffe to Ukraine
May 28, 2025
Economist and historian Duncan Weldon delves into the fascinating links between economy and warfare. He discusses how Viking pillaging ultimately boosted medieval economies and how Spain’s influx of silver made it poorer. Weldon provides insights on Genghis Khan as a globalization pioneer and critiques the Luftwaffe's glamorization of fighter pilots. Through his book, Blood and Treasure, he articulates how war shapes economies, typically with unexpected outcomes, and reveals the complex financial histories behind conflicts from the past to the present.
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War Creates The State
- War historically created states as organized systems to extract resources through violence specialists.
- States evolved as units capable of waging war and controlling agricultural surpluses from conquered populations.
States Make War, War Makes States
- States and wars have co-evolved, with states primarily existing to wage wars historically.
- Early modern British state's biggest expenses were military and debt interest from previous wars.
War Finance Shapes Modern Economy
- Modern financial systems, like the Bank of England, originated to finance wars.
- State taxation and national debt systems emerged from the need to fund large military conflicts.
