Only an economist can consider a theory like that for more than a few seconds and not laugh hysterically. As Tom Woods has said, following this logic, the best thing we could do for our economy is build a huge armada of amazing battle ships, have Japan do likewise, then float them to the middle of the pacific and, after evacuating them (surely, the loss of human life is not a necessary component in this economic model, is it?) blow them all up.
Empiricism is not on your side. The richest country in the world spends more than its fair share on 'a huge armada of amazing battle ships', actually, as much as everyone else on the planet put together, and also actively seeks out remote spots of the planet to blow stuff up in.
Nah, neither, I was using raw GDP. Those countries don't have politico-economic systems which funnel large chunks of their populations into either incarceration or the military. Forbes list also seems appropriate for the discussion given the 'very rich' theme going on.
Care to dig up those rates/expenditures per capita?
I actually believe this is a bit of an insult to economists. I don't believe most mainstream economists would consider anything involving loss of life on a large scale "a good thing", just those that dabble in economic theory.
Rinse, wash, repeat. We're all rich!