Trump’s Senseless Waste in Iran

Back in 1909, the British writer and politician Norman Angell famously argued in the book The Great Illusion that wars no longer made any economic sense. While the states of the medieval period or antiquity might profit hugely by looting conquered areas, by the 20th century the global economy had become so complicated and interdependent—and modern militaries so expensive and destructive—that any war would be a net economic drain.

Angell reasoned that this meant wars were unlikely to happen in future...