[BroJoeK]

zeugma: "Pretty much all wars are economic."

Says the god of economics: Karl Marx.
Those of us who don't believe in such false gods think there's nearly always much more than just economics involved.

Correctly stated -- every war has an economic dimension, but pure economics is almost never the root cause, or the trigger.
One reason is because economics is all about free markets, where supply and demand set negotiated prices.
If we don't like the price, we don't go to war over it, we simply substitute something else.

zeugma: "By the time of the civil war, slavery was being gradually made uneconomical due to advances in technology.
The cotton gin was pretty much going to destroy the economics of it even further. "

Sorry, but that is the exact opposite of reality.
In fact, by 1860 slavery had never been more productive or profitable in the Deep Cotton South.
Both the numbers of slaves and prices for slaves were growing rapidly in 1860 -- the Deep South had never been more prosperous.

Yes, in some Border Slave States, like Delaware and Maryland, where cotton was not grown and slaves could more easily escape via the Underground Railroad, slavery itself was struggling and more than half of African Americans had already been emancipated.

But in the Deep Cotton South, in 1860 slavery was prospering and growing like never before.

zeugma: "Slavery was a factor, but northern business interests were also a factor.
If you think so much blood and treasure was expended merely to free blacks from a condition that had existed for as long as civilization, you’re delusional.
History is always more complex than a bumper sticker slogan."

When you worship at the feet of Karl Marx, then economics and class warfare become the be-all and end-all of life, the one explanation which answers every question.

When you reject Marx as your god, then you can begin to see that human beings are very often motivated by factors other than economic.
Words that are meaningless and arcane to Karl Marx can become more important again, words like patriotism, love of God and country & Constitution, morality and ethics, commitment to the just cause, legal obligations, honor, the truth as opposed to lies, honesty as opposed to deception, family, friends and community, the list goes on and on.

For good people such words mean a lot more than the price of gas or bread, or tariff percents on French wine.
Short of starvation, we are not going to war over those, but we will go to war if you threaten our highest values.

[FLT-bird]

Says the god of economics: Karl Marx. Those of us who don't believe in such false gods think there's nearly always much more than just economics involved.

Say a LOT of people, not just Marx. LOL! Nice try though to pass this all off as being Marxist.

Correctly stated -- every war has an economic dimension, but pure economics is almost never the root cause, or the trigger.

In the end, it usually comes down to money one way or the other - despite the claims of it being about something else.

One reason is because economics is all about free markets, where supply and demand set negotiated prices. If we don't like the price, we don't go to war over it, we simply substitute something else.

Overly simplistic. Wars over taxes, over access to the sea, over trading rights, over control of a valuable piece of land, over control of certain valuable resources, etc etc are ultimately about money. Money is what it boils down to.

Sorry, but that is the exact opposite of reality. In fact, by 1860 slavery had never been more productive or profitable in the Deep Cotton South. Both the numbers of slaves and prices for slaves were growing rapidly in 1860 -- the Deep South had never been more prosperous. Yes, in some Border Slave States, like Delaware and Maryland, where cotton was not grown and slaves could more easily escape via the Underground Railroad, slavery itself was struggling and more than half of African Americans had already been emancipated. But in the Deep Cotton South, in 1860 slavery was prospering and growing like never before.

Slavery was in retreat in places that were industrializing. The more industrial they were, the higher the percentage of freedmen, the few the slave owners, etc. It was the same pattern than had played out everywhere else that had industrialized. The Upper South - Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee - were already seeing slavery noticeably in retreat.

When you worship at the feet of Karl Marx, then economics and class warfare become the be-all and end-all of life, the one explanation which answers every question. When you reject Marx as your god, then you can begin to see that human beings are very often motivated by factors other than economic. Words that are meaningless and arcane to Karl Marx can become more important again, words like patriotism, love of God and country & Constitution, morality and ethics, commitment to the just cause, legal obligations, honor, the truth as opposed to lies, honesty as opposed to deception, family, friends and community, the list goes on and on. For good people such words mean a lot more than the price of gas or bread, or tariff percents on French wine. Short of starvation, we are not going to war over those, but we will go to war if you threaten our highest values.

Blah Blah Blah. A lot of people have noticed throughout history that most wars are about money - not just Marx. Nor is such an observation tied to Marxist political thought.

"All wars are undertaken for the acquisition of wealth" - Socrates

Lemme guess, he was a Marxist too.