Commerce/trade as analogs to warfare ...

[shikamaru]

... as are law, civilization, religion, politics ....

... and love (reproduction) (Recall the phrase, "All is fair in love and war").

All the aforementioned are analogues of warfare.

Civilization is the process of making the uncivil civil.

What do I mean?

Behavior that is typically considered uncivil will become regulated as to who, what, when, where, why, and how it can be done.
Violence and aggression are regulated, redirected, or transmuted into other actions.

The problem with commerce/trade, in my opinion, is that people have been trained (brainwashing, psychological warfare) to act as 'sitting ducks' within it rather than building up one's fortifications and assembling troops.