War economy

The War Economy served was a economical global structure created by The Patriots in 2014 (although it's concept was alluded by Kazuhira Miller in 1974 ), thus turning war into a lucrative business since the state economies have become dependent of war with an immediate need for PMCs (most of them belonging to Liquid Ocelot's mother company) on battlefields and the introduction of the SOP system.

The term "War Economy" was used by many analysts to describe the overall situation: the total control of the battlefield brought by the SOP System has created an increased demand for war (becoming a product), and artificially controlling the intensity of warfare.

Though the War Economy provided conventional advantages, it also paved the way for illegal activity, where someone like Drebin (one of many gun launderers) found loop holes in order to distribute his weapons, taking advantage of it and selling to PMC's, Paramilitary, state armies, and even terrorist groups, thus business (for him) was booming thanks to the high demands of war. Also (according to Otacon), Drebin's rates were tied into the War Economy due to the energy supply and distribution networks that support them (However, It's to be noted that it was possible that the Patriots had deliberately allowed Gun Launderers to exist, as Drebin mentioned that he was allowed to launder naked guns because they let him, and had absolutely nothing to do with his ties to AT Corps). It also resulted in the use of child soldiers becoming even more prevalent than before, as well as the creation of more refugees.

According to Big Mama, the AIs were responsible for the creation of the War Economy. Also (according to Big Boss), the War Economy was a total deviation of Zero's will as the proxy-AIs' interpretion of a better way to accomplish their goals was war. They created the War Economy and started a battlefield revolution similar to the industrial and digital revolutions that Big Boss describes as "a new world without ideology, principles, or ideals, not even the thing [The Boss] treasured the most: loyalty. It was a colossal error in judgment – one Zero couldn't possibly have foreseen".