Wars, conflict, it’s all business. One murder makes a villain; millions a hero. Numbers sanctify.

The line is a cynical indictment of how large-scale violence is normalized and even celebrated when it is organized as war. By calling war “business,” it frames conflict as an enterprise with incentives, institutions, and beneficiaries rather than a tragic exception to moral life. The contrast—one murder producing a “villain” while millions produce a “hero”—exposes a double standard in moral judgment: individual killing is condemned, but mass killing can be rewarded with medals, patriotic narratives, and historical prestige. “Numbers sanctify” suggests that sheer scale can launder wrongdoing into legitimacy, implying that public perception and political rhetoric can override ethical reality.