Shopkeeper pays glazier $200 to fix his broken window. So instead of having $200 and a window, the shopkeeping only has a window. The glazier now has $200. It seems to me that the community still has $200 and a window. Why is society less wealthy?
What could have been done with the $200 had the window not been destroyed? Remember: the $200 is being eaten up having to replace what was destroyed, rather than purchasing something new that one did not have.
Because without the broken window, the shopkeeper would have had a window plus something he wanted to buy with $200, and whoever sold it to him has the $200.
Okay, what about blowing up half the houses in Paris ? You need to build them again and people who build houses will make money. I’m sure there’s no net loss there for ‘society’ . Why not nuke the whole city too ?