# Has war ever solved anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 1, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-war-ever-solved-anything/378689 "2006-11-01T04:12:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-war-ever-solved-anything/378689/21 "2006-11-02T18:50:46Z")
War…the solution for and cause of all of man’s problems ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-war-ever-solved-anything/378689/22 "2006-11-02T18:53:30Z")
That’s beer. I think it’s a Tolstoy quote from “Beer and Peace.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@The\_Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Octagon)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-war-ever-solved-anything/378689/23 "2006-11-02T19:07:37Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] I never suggested war didn’t also cause problems. But from, say, the perspective of the United States in 1945, war had clearly solved some fairly significant problems. Given a choice between going to war or not going to war, it is clear that not going to war would have allowed an unacceptable situation to continue, whereas going to war solved it. The USA, after all, did not start World War I and got into that mess only at the very end, and was not primarily responsible for the Versailles conditions, so it wasn’t THEIR fault. Clearly, with regards to the problems of Hitler and his temporary allies as faced by the United States, war was a very effective solution indeed. (The same could be said of the other peripheral Allies who didn’t help start WWI, like Canada, Australia, India, etc.) [/QUOTE] I did not aim to disagree with you. The merits of war all depend on your perspective, and there is no solution without a flaw. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-war-ever-solved-anything/378689/24 "2006-11-02T19:53:22Z")
War, huh, what is it good for? Absolutely nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-war-ever-solved-anything/378689/25 "2006-11-02T20:05:06Z")
Say it again. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-war-ever-solved-anything/378689/26 "2006-11-03T14:15:35Z")
Well, it certainly relieves issues with overpopulation. I have to answer yes. As abhorrent as the idea is, sometimes the use of force is the only solution. But when force is used, it needs to be total and focused, and you don’t back off of it until your enemy is defeated. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-war-ever-solved-anything/378689/27 "2006-11-03T15:24:26Z")
Unfortunately, some times war clearly does solve problems. The Korean war and WWII are two of the best examples. As was pointed our earlier, in Korea, there are $48M south Koreans living in freedom, that would not have been the care if it was not for the Korean War. And WWII, is so clear a case that no debate is necessary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-war-ever-solved-anything/378689.md?page=1)