You overestimate the value of material wealth and underestimate nationalism
Not really. Take the jmfcst examples: Japan attacked us because we were sanctioning them because they were occupying and terrorizing the Chinese. Okay, that's an oversimplified version, but bear with me: The Japs were addicted to oil. We had the oil. We supplied the oil. We cut them off. They attacked us.
Similarly, the Germans wanted Lebensraum. Lebensraum means space for living. Space for living means utility, wealth, can comfort. How do you get lebensraum? You march into Poland, kill the poles, and take their land. Easy. The Germans were humiliated from the terms of the Versailles treaty and having to take wheelbarrow-loads of Deutschmarks to the store just to buy a loaf of bread. What did Hitler promise? He promised jobs. He promised industry. He promised factories. This is what people want.
Or, to take a more recent example, consider the IRA. Back in the 70s you couldn't walk down a Belfast street without worrying that the next shop you step into might be blown up while you were inside it. Bombings, explosions, mutilations, and deaths. Civilians, women, and children killed and wounded. What did the IRA want? A free Ulster, they said, or a re-unification with Ireland. But what did they really want? Prosperity. When you're unemployed and hungry, you're easy to recruit. But what about when you're fat and happy? Then it's not so easy. Since 1987, the Celtic Tiger has been growing more prosperous, and also since then, the terrorism has diminished, until it finally stopped.
It's simple: if you're content, you don't want to rock the boat.
