Debate: Is War Ever Justified?

Most wars seem to create costs that far outweigh their benefits, but is war ever justified?

Bryan Caplan

Bryan Caplan is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a New York Times Bestselling author.

Jan Ting

Jan Ting is professor of law at Temple University. He teaches courses on national security, taxation, and immigration law.

In this Learn Liberty debate, Prof. Bryan Caplan and Prof. Jan Ting disagree on whether war is ever justified. 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.