The Economics of Aggression: Why War Always Destroys the Perpetrator — A V=N/D Analysis
Abstract
War has been described as politics by other means. This paper proposes a different analysis: war is the deliberate maximization of D (friction), and is therefore self-defeating by mathematical necessity. Using the economic formula V=N/D — where V represents value generated, N represents service and contribution, and D represents friction, resistance, and destruction — this paper demonstrates that large-scale military aggression systematically and inevitably destroys the perpetrator's long-term value, regardless of short-term territorial gains. Four case studies are examined: Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, the United States (Iraq War), and Vladimir Putin. The paper introduces the Aggressor's Paradox and situates war as the civilizational inverse of the Saint Algorithm.