> Human history seems to suggest conquest is often the more efficient means of getting resources than trade.

If the great enrichment since ~1800 or ~1600 hadn't happened, I'd agree with you. But they one sort of takes the quantitative cake (like craaazy) and so squashes everything else

denlillaapan

All of human history, basic logic, economics writing for the last four centuries etc etc.

Um... is that really true?  Human history seems to suggest conquest is often the more efficient means of getting resources than trade.  Sometimes, conquest is done for the specific purpose of opening up trade.

BooksAndArticles

econ

Capitalism Book Club #6: CHAPTER 3: Words, More Words

> > How do we know that on average it will always be cheaper to trade rather than conquer?
> 
> All of human history, basic logic, economics writing for the last four centuries etc etc.

Um... is that really true?  Human history seems to suggest conquest is often the more efficient means of getting resources than trade.  Sometimes, conquest is done for the specific purpose of opening up trade.