Jus Ante Bellum. An Engineering Proposal

The idea of jus ante bellum has received very little attention, and then always from the viewpoint of military personnel. One appraisal has focused on the ethical education of personnel at a naval academy, ywj in disciplina bellica [36]. Another tentative proposal has suggested that it might be used as a term for the preparations necessary to produce a competent and effective military force capable of delivering just war [37]. However, the present proposal is much broader in scope and is concerned with the resources used in preparation for war, or to avert war. This consideration may also be viewed as an opportunity of professional capabilities, as described in Chap. 2, arising from the immense suffering which remains unalleviated as resources are diverted to the production of weapons. 

The costs and benefits of water and sanitation improvements at a global level have been quantitatively evaluated [39]. Five levels of intervention were considered, two of the most significant of which are  

All interventions were compared to the situation in 2000 and costed to include full investment and annual running costs. The total annual costs of the two outlined here were estimated to be (a) US 11.3 billion, (b) US 136.5 billion. It is easy to lose an awareness of individuals in global calculations of this type, so it is helpfiil to consider the annual cost per person receiving interventions (a) US 5.4, (b) US 20.6. These are very modest sums in the context of the benefits to the individuals. There are, of course, many uncertainties in such calculations and detailed country case studies are required. However, it should be noted that the annual cost of the least expensive intervention is a tiny 0.7 % of world annual military expenditure. Even the annual cost of the most expensive intervention is only 8 % of world annual mihtary expenditure. That many deaths and much suffering could be relieved by the diversion of relatively small amounts of the budget for the preparation for war to the supply of essential resources to the poorest of the world s population is a major injustice that should be of widespread concern.  

The costs of universal provision of electricity are compared to military expenditure in Chap. 5. 

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