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gwern comments on Bayesians vs. Barbarians - Less Wrong
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I'm not going to dispute the others, but I kind of had the impression that we did pretty well out of the Mexican and Spanish-American wars; I mean, Texas's oil alone would seem to've paid for the (minimal) costs of those two, right?
In terms of national self-interest, yes. But they weren't causes that I'd personally risk death for.
I'm being inconsistent; I'm using the "national interest" standard for WW2, and the "personal interests" standard for these wars.
Well presumably most people don't actually risk their lives for the cause. They risk their lives for the prestige, power, money, or whatever. Fighting in a war is a good (but risky) way to gain respect and influence. Also there are social costs to avoiding the fight.