Spot on. Paranoia and fear drive the economy. War profiteering, no bid contracts, stores selling out - any time there is a hint at something terrible possibly occurring, there is a knee jerk reaction. Y2K, people built bunkers, withdrew their accounts, rationed food. 9/11, lead us into a war with a country not involved (should have been Saudi Arabia as the high jackers were Saudi) and no bid contracts for Halliburton. The cold war, created decades of tension from countries fighting over former Nazi scientists to the 80's/90's. Families built fall-out shelters, children were taught to "duck and cover" in the event a nuclear bomb hits (as if a wooden desk will protect them). After the cold war, there had to be another enemy. Years of governments such as the UK and US manipulating the MIddle East to secure oil lead to a backlash into the 80's and today. The Iran-Contra affair, selling weapons to the very people/terrorists we fight, politicians running platforms warning of terror if they aren't elected, lobbyists lining their pockets, back room deals.
It has been and always will be about money. Period. Our government wants us to fight, we've come to use liberal and conservative as insults and the internet has not helped in bringing us closer together. Instead, forums, chat rooms, comments written to strangers insulting them for their beliefs, accusing people with no basis of being xxxx. This isn't about Republican or Democrat, they're all the same. This is about power, control, fear, capitalism. Wars create money, short term and long term. Fear makes people buy. Cut education, lower the standard of living, minimum wage, increase higher education costs, and create a world of feudalists living paycheck to paycheck, fighting each other instead working with each other. This isn't a conspiracy, this is reality, and has been for centuries.