The Political Economy of 'The Art of War'

Abstract

Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" deals with the economic aspects of military operations as well as some more general economic principles. This article studies several of its economic ideas in turn: on war and the state, the effect of war on economic affairs, and the role of incentives in promoting desired behavior within military organizations. It also discusses how the text treats ideal military strategy as a matter of opportunity discovery, analogous to entrepreneurship in the work of Israel Kirzner.

Keywords: Sun Tzu, Art of War, Political Economy, Economics of War, History of Economic Thought, Military Organization, Incentives, Entrepreneurship, Opportunity Discovery

JEL Classification: B11, L26, N45, N75