How we cite our quotes: (Scene, Line numbers)
Quote #4
MOTHER COURAGE: […] Seriously: To go by what the big shots say, they're waging war for almighty God and in the name of everything that's good and lovely. But look closer, they ain't so silly, they're waging it for what they can get. Else little folk like me wouldn't be in it at all. (III, 212-217)
And then Mother Courage goes and gets all serious on us. She makes it clear that the "little folk," i.e., the lower classes, get involved in wars for the same reasons that the wagers wage them—to make money. The part about the war being for God or any other capital letter word is just a bunch of talk, according to what she tells us.
Quote #5
MOTHER COURAGE: […] Look, victory and defeat ain't bound to be same for the big shots up top as for them below, not by no means. Can be times the bottom lot find a defeat really pays them. Honour's lost, nowt else. I remember once up in Livonia our general took such a beating from the enemy I got a horse off our baggage train in the confusion, pulled me cart seven months, he did, before we won and they checked up. As a rule you can say victory and defeat both come expensive to us ordinary folk. Best thing for us is when politics get bogged down solid. (III, 340-349)
Here's another idea: wars aren't all about victory and defeat. Sometimes the best thing is when they're going poorly. But in general, Mother Courage says, war is tough no matter whether it's being won or lost. "Winning" or "losing" a war is only a concern for those in charge, who usually aren't the ones doing the fighting.
Quote #6
THE CHAPLAIN: […] Ah, peace. Where is the hole once the cheese has been eaten?
That's deep, Chap. Let's think about that one. If war destroys things, then peace can't mean a return to normal, just like you don't get to keep the holes for later, once you've eaten the cheese. The chaplain implies here that peace itself is not the end of war, but just the end of fighting. War destroys the possibility of peace.