In geopolitics, clinging to a righteous cause you cannot win by force often means grinding your own people into poverty for decades. The logical, albeit difficult, response is to make concessions and focus on improving citizens' lives, rather than insisting on being 'right' while they suffer.

Political violence and extreme polarization are symptoms of deeper economic anxieties. When people feel economically insecure, they retreat into tribal identities and become susceptible to narratives of anger, which can escalate into violence.

Despite ideological or religious motivations, sustained conflict is impossible without economic support. Even highly motivated groups cannot fight without money to buy weapons and maintain their infrastructure, revealing economics as the fundamental, inescapable driver of global power dynamics and war.

The plan to redevelop Gaza economically presents a moral dilemma: significant, positive outcomes can arise from ethically questionable or even reprehensible actions. Like the founding of America through conflict, achieving a prosperous future may require a price that society finds difficult to accept.

When people are unwilling or unable to feel their own emotional pain, they often transform it into actions that cause pain to others. This applies to individuals lashing out and leaders giving their followers someone to hate.

The same historical facts, like America's history with slavery, can be interpreted as a story of shame or a story of heroic struggle to live up to founding ideals. The narrative a society chooses dictates its collective psyche and future trajectory.

The root cause of many social conflicts is not just ideology but deep-seated economic anxiety. When people struggle to pay bills, that stress turns into anger, which is easily manipulated into tribalism and fighting over a perceived "shrinking pie."

When people are subjected to extreme humiliation and loss with no hope of justice, their motivations can shift. Violent revenge, even if suicidal, becomes a rational choice to reclaim dignity, prioritizing retaliation against an oppressor over self-preservation.

The public sentiment towards minority groups, particularly historical scapegoats, can function as a canary in the coal mine for a nation's economic health. When fear and economic anxiety rise, society seeks a focus for its anger, making the "temperature on the Jews" a critical, if grim, socio-economic indicator.