Business: The Hidden Costs of the Viet Nam War

An end to the war would be good, not bad, for American business. War is, as we would say in business, a low-yield operation. —Louis B. Lundborg, Chairman, Bank of America

THE myth that capitalism thrives on war has never been more fallacious. While the Nixon Administration battles war-induced inflation, corporate profits are tumbling and unemployment runs high. Urgent civilian needs are being shunted aside to satisfy the demands of military budgets. Businessmen are virtually unanimous in their conviction that peace would be bullish, and they were generally cheered by last week's withdrawal...