... and this is called the "broken window fallacy". You're right in that you remark that it's less bad than it initially seems. Some wealth is indeed recovered

... and this is called the "broken window fallacy". You're right in that you remark that it's less bad than it initially seems. Some wealth is indeed recovered when the broken window is repaired. However everyone is by necessity worse off than if you didn't break the window in the first place. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window