Nine and a half trillion dollars. None of us can even vaguely comprehend that amount of money. Even if we say 9.5 thousand billion, or 9.5 million million we just can't grasp the enormity of the sum. It is the estimated annual cost of war on this planet, which includes military spending at roughly two trillion, but extends to the effects of war on the global economy. This amount is approximately eleven percent of the global GDP.
Of course these staggering statistics can be employed to help put a value on peace, a principle and aspiration which we assume defies a price tag and yet might be measured if we pay attention to the economic benefits of a cessation of all wars.
If we consider peace as shalom, the health and wellbeing of humans and ecosystems, imagine the benefits of nearly ten billion dollars in treating illnesses and feeding all people. What if we invested some of those trillions in finding alternatives to fossil fuels and rehabilitating our damaged planet?
We are told constantly that we simply don't have the financial resources to address these pressing problems but apparently we do. It is a matter of allocating them for good rather than evil. Of course the terms good and evil are moral, rather than financial, but our faith does call us to choose the good over what is evil, and the machinery and destruction of war are evil, even when we decide that it is necessary.
Perhaps Jesus was more of an economist than we thought.
2 comments:
I agree 100% - but how do we get this message out, loud and clear, to the politicians who make the decisions re spending our tax dollars????
Yes, it's very frustrating to hear stories about Canadians not having coverage for drugs that may save their lives, yet billions are being spent on wars.
I know we need to have a military and we can't pretend that there are no countries or groups that would want to harm us, but it sure seems like we've got our priorities screwed up.
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