George Orwell on Foreign War Profits
on Tuesday, January 20, 2015George Orwell Money Quotation saying armed conflicts and war bring profit to corporations building weapons and supplies. George Orwell said:
“War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it” — George Orwell
George Orwell is referring to wealthy individuals and groups (the “moneyed classes”) who stand to gain financially from war.
Specifically, he means that wars are more likely to break out when powerful economic interests, like weapons manufacturers and military contractors, believe they can increase their profits by selling arms and supplies to the countries involved in an armed conflict.
Orwell is suggesting that private economic incentives, rather than purely strategic or ideological reasons, often play a role in decisions around going to war.
Birthday: June 25, 1903 – Death: January 25, 1950