We live in an age in which military defense alliances are the norm between like-minded nations, as well there still being, despite this, an awful lot of wars, or rumors of wars, between various nations, or even within nations that have serious civil discord. On the other hand, we know that the very first thing about commerce and trade, is those that are integral parts of such, recognize that war, for the most part, is bad for business, because business depends upon the good, open and fair relations between one nation to the other, along with the safe passage so necessary to successfully conduct that trade. So then, a world without war, is going to be far better for commerce, then a world with lots of conflict and war – though, of course, those that are in the war business, would vociferously disagree with that assessment.
While it seems to make eminent sense to have alliances, such as we see with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) it has to be recognized that all the monies so allocated to the military, has a strong tendency for those receiving such, to want to demonstrate in action that those monies were not ill-spent, because they believe that this world needs military might in order to not only defend nations but also to impose order on those recalcitrant nations that need order to be imposed upon them. In other words, defense alliances of any sort, typically can’t just let their powder sit dry, year after year, but rather they are eager to display that those monies expended on armaments were not spent in vain, for these military expenditures are believed to be necessary for the protection and safety of nations.
Yet, it has to be said, that humankind, is inborn with a natural inclination to desire to do what they have to do on an individual and family basis to secure the necessary attributes in order to thereby have a good life, which therefore means that gainful employment, and the bartering of one’s labor for monetary compensation, or the trading of goods to one another is part and parcel of how that good and satisfactory life contributes gainfully to the foundation that such success is built upon. This thus signifies that being able to freely conduct commerce with any and everyone that fits that bill, makes for alliances between those trading parties, in which each party to that trade, benefits, and of which, neither party desires to see this to be upended.
Indeed, it is commercial trade done on a level playing field, that brings parties that could be warring against one another, or be at enmity with one another, closer together, because at the end of the day, commerce is by far the better path for lasting satisfaction, as opposed to forcefully taking from the other, through might. This is why, those nations that primarily concentrate on those alliances that are beneficial for commerce are helping to make this world to be more inclusive, and those that concentrate instead on the need to carry a big stick, are those that are stuck within a mindset that won’t be progress, but will instead be that which will be potentially disastrous for us all.