Journal 7
the quickest way of ending a war is to lose it


When two countries are encountering a war with each other without using an ultimate weapon that can wipe out the whole country, such as the nuclear bomb, the war will eventually turn into a seesaw battle that both sides need constantly put into human and material resources into the battlefield. A country without an overwhelming power difference can rarely determinate or conquer another within a relatively short period. Due to the limits of transportation, both sides can only exert limited influence on the battlefield which is not enough to establish an absolute advantage over another. Thus, the war will become a quagmire for both sides: to win is to invest, but to end is to lose. However, this constant effort to keep the “not lose” will not bring the victory or the price of victory will outweigh the prize of the victory. As a result, lose the war to end the war would be reasonable and worthy. There is a similar economic term related to this phenomenon -sunken cost. Sunken cost refers to the cost paid and can not be refunded; in war, the sunken cost will refer to the resource already distributed into the war. Sometimes it is better to give up those sunken costs, which will save future costs.

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