Bombs or Money? (No, Not a Rap Album)

So - my friends know that I've become disenchanted with Scott Adams's blog of late. I once went so far as to say that everything the Dilbert creator did started out great and then deteriorated as he got lazy.

But it's been pretty good for the last few days (i.e. no more obvious jokes about odd medical stories). Case in point: today's post, regarding wartime economics. "When was the last time a relatively poor country successfully attacked and conquered a richer country?", he asks, provoking the question: can a good economy and a modest military lead to more security than a huge, ever-expanding military?

Keep in mind that this argument only really applies to our modern world, where international trade has done its job to unite economic allies and lead even reluctant nations to defend countries that bring in their moola. As one comment incitefully puts it: "[N]o country without a McDonald's has ever gone to war with a country with a McDonald's and won."

I guess we won't be seeing this anytime soon.