Most wars seem to create costs that far outweigh their benefits, but is war ever justified? In this Learn Liberty debate, Prof. Bryan Caplan and Prof. Jan Ting disagree. Prof. Caplan argues that pacifism should be U.S. policy as the costs and benefits of war are too difficult to predict and innocent lives are almost certainly going to be lost. Prof. Ting argues that there are occasions in which war is necessary, such as against ideological or religious perspectives that cannot be reasoned with. He uses World War II as an example when U.S. military intervention did more good than harm. Prof. Caplan contends that this is difficult to measure. What do you think? Should military intervention be an option on the table? Why or why not?
