The Economics of Death Star Planet Destruction

Questions of logic don't apply to Hollywood movies, but science fiction fans like their stories to make some kind of sense. So the discussion turned to the logic of using a Death Star to blow up a planet.
What’s the economic calculus behind the Empire’s tactic of A) building a Death Star, B) intimidating planets into submission with the threat of destruction, and C) actually carrying through with said destruction if the planet doesn’t comply?

Doesn’t the Empire take a huge economic loss from the lost productivity of an entire planet? They were presumably paying taxes and providing resources to the rest of the Empire. Presumably the loss of that planet’s output would have to be made up by increased output from other planets that were either slacking in productivity due to rebellion or threatening to rebel and withdraw from the Empire altogether. It doesn’t seem to make good economic sense.

What follows is a cost-benefit analysis from various members of the Think Tank. Read the rest at (where else?) Overthinking It. Link -via Metafilter

In terms of the story, there was no thought towards economics after the death star's use. It represented the end of the Empire pretending to be a government with citizen's best interest as a goal.
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Lest we forget the observation by an anonymous NJ contractor that even though the attack on the second Death Star most probably killed a lot of construction workers, those guys knew what they were getting into when they signed on to install toilets and drywall for the ruthless gangster Empire.
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Ok, it is dark side of the force. Do you see "dark side". so they are bad just for being bad. They don't want to be rich or powerful, just destroy.
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There is no such thing as evil for evils sake evil exists only as a corrupted form of good. Even those who murder for pleasure are seeking pleasure which itself is not evil evil is a type of sickness or insanity because it seeks what is seemingly good by evil means...it's like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer because it feels good when you stop...
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