If War is Bad For Humanity, Who is Funding It and Who is Gaining from the Hostility

"Israel-Hamas conflict" is the most searched phrase on google since the war started. The irony is, we are taught as early as in the kindergarten that war is bad for everybody, what we also know is that guns are expensive, so why sale of these destructive weapons have soared globally for 17 consecutive years and most importantly who is benefiting from these sales?

Rising geo-polictical conflicts have not only triggered destruction but also caused recessions, mass unemployment and severe environmental damage.

Since the Israel-Palestine war started, a massive percentage of 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip have no electricity and no water which are basic necessities in life. And, with hundreds of Israeli strikes raining down on their tiny enclave, they have nowhere to run, according to a Reuters report.

While these dire conditions may push the already battered country to collapse economically, investors around the world have already pared their losses they took on Monday and most stock markets across the globe are trading in green.

In these critical days, shares of world's largest weapon manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman are having their best days in years. Lockheed Martin's share price jumped nearly 9 percent since the war started on October 9th and Northrop Grumman stocks soared about 12%.

Top 10 Weapon Manufacturers In the World

Since 2009, the US has delivered more than $444 billion in arms sales to 169 countries, according to a report from Homeland Security News Wire. That is despite the White House administration's relatively new Conventional Arms Transfer policy, which asks to consider human rights in the arms sales process, the administration's actual sales profile indicates that it seeks little real change from decades of prior US arms transfers, the report said.

Lockheed Martin, which is an American weapon manufacturer with more than $100 billion market cap, makes F-35 fighter jets, Sikorsky and Black Hawk helicopters which are extensively used in wars and invasions. Northrop Grumman has over $70 billion market cap and is reportedly building a one-shot-one-kill artillery shell for the US navy as the age of smart weapons continue.

Also, despite the sanctions imposed by China, these arm dealers have massive demand in Taiwan and other parts of the world to supply latest weapons. Mexico, in March, filed an appeal in a civil lawsuit against US-based gun manufacturers looking to crack down on the trafficking of weapons to powerful drug cartels, a Reuters report cited.

While the other side of the debate is guns should be primarily used for defense purpose, historically, weapons were always used by someone who started a war.

Source: Wikipedia

A Correction Overdue?

As much as the world leaders condemn the act of war, nothing substantial happens. Perhaps it is time to act strongly on the secular views the influential group of leaders have spoken about in the past.

When it comes to war, warnings may not work and it is crystal clear from the Russia-Ukriane war that sanctions practically make only minimal impact.

World's Largest Arms Exporters

And while negotiating with self-righteous secular advocates could be a challenge, the yields are likely to be less expensive than the death and displacement of millions of innocent and unsuspecting masses.

Source: Wikipedia

What can be done to keep a check on the methods of destruction is a topic for discussion among diplomats and leaders, but if sale of weapons increases with the world population, climate change and melting of polar ice will not be the primary cause for the extinction of human race.

Source: SIPRI Arms Industry Data, 2022