The idea of “dying for the economy” is evidently grotesque, but accepting the risk of death for one’s nation or for one’s family is the bedrock of conventional conceptions of state and society. The basic logic of war is that a minority, usually men of fighting age, are put in harm’s way for the collective good. In total war, that risk extends to the entire population. The economy is not incidental but absolutely central to the struggle. What makes sense of the trade-off are the ideas of belonging and existential collective threat. The losses—whether they be on the field of battle, the supply
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