[Sherman Logan]

To which, Krugman would reply that it is just as good for the child to steal the shoes or the book as it was to break the window

From an economic standpoint, theft is much better than destruction.

Theft merely transfers the value of an economic good (say, six francs) from one person to another. Breakage destroys wealth, requiring that an additional six francs be used to replace the window. This reduces the total wealth of the world (or of France) by six francs.

It's not quite that simple, but almost.

Hurricanes and disasters are great for my personal economy, but that's due to my line of work.

[Common Sense 101]

From an economic standpoint, theft is much better than destruction.

Not for the former owner of the property. ;) I guess it’s fair to say that from a macroeconomic standpointtheft is much better than destruction. From a microeconomic perspective... not so much.