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by jhp123 1040 days ago
Broken windows can be a net benefit, for example the london neighborhoods hit by bombs during world war 2 are now far denser and more economically active. The idea that broken windows are always negative is as simplistic as the idea that they are always positive.
1 comments

To whom, and over what timescales?

I'd wager that the vast majority of Londoners living during the war did not see a net benefit from their neighborhoods being destroyed.

Whether or not future generations reaped a benefit at their expense is a utilitarian exercise for your imagination, but one example doesn't invalidate the economic principle (destroying resources is usually harmful, not helpful).