Shortly before World War I, a British author named
Norman Angell published a famous book entitled
The Great Illusion, in which he argued that war had become obsolete, that in the modern industrial era even military victors lose far more than they gain. He was right, but wars kept happening anyway.
The belief that conquest is beneficial is a great illusion. But the belief that economic rationality always prevents war is an equally great illusion. And today’s global economic interdependence, which can be sustained only if governments act sensibly, is more fragile than we imagine.
