The US has major geographical and natural resource advantages that make it a superpower. We fared well after WW2 for a number of reasons, not just because we lost no infrastructure and relatively few soldiers.<p>Look at Japan, Germany, the UK, and France now. They were devastated (both infrastructure and population-wise) and now they are among the strongest economies in the world, coming in behind the US and China at numbers 3,4,5,6 respectively in terms of nominal GDP.<p>Just as forest fires burn down old trees and put nutrients back into the soil to spur new growth, so does war force countries to rebuild and rethink.<p>I&#x27;m not advocating for war, but it&#x27;s a much more defensible thesis in my opinion (large temporary increase in aggregate demand, large permanent decrease in labor supply), much more so than increased vacation time.