202410040024 Status: #idea Tags: #economics #war #world_war_1 #psychology # Psychology plays a key role in economic mobilization There is some evidence that the psychological state of a populace affects its ability and willingness to economically mobilize for war. If bad news comes from the war front, the population may decide that there is no reason to make sacrifices since the war is lost anyway. This makes rations, price controls, and other measures much less palatable. For instance, in World War 1 Germany was able to mobilize only 30-40% of its economy for the war, whereas Britain was able to mobilize 60% of its economy. A contributing factor may be that the German army stagnated for so long in the west after failing in its crucial attempt to knock out France quickly. [[Germany’s only chance to win World War I was in the first 6 weeks]] [[The longer war drags on, the more economic it becomes]] [[Greater population and productive capacity acts as slack for poor strategy in war]] --- # References [[The economics of World War I]]