Resource Appropriation

Sun Tzu, often toted as one of the greatest military minds in history, is among the first, if not the very first, to record in writing topics on the economics of warfare. He has written on subjects ranging from motivating soldiers using monetary incentives for each of a type of enemy killed (a chariot was worth more than a foot soldier) to gathering intelligence on the enemy’s supply usage to predict their actions. In particular, he was very concerned about replenishing those supplies consumed by soldiers during extended travel where shipping additional supplies would be difficult. In his book The Art of War, Sun Tzu says, “Each pound of food taken from the enemy is worth 20 pounds you provide yourself.” Now, of course, pounds weren’t the unit of measure during Sun Tzu’s time but the meaning of the translation remains valid, even if the exact measure may vary.