Most important for history

Politics is arguably a subgroup of Society, given that Politics is shaped by Society, so I'm going with Economics as the driving force of history. Economics is the driving force of history, given that it affects politics and society. It affects politics via the people's response to those in power's management of the economy. If those in power can maintain a good economy, they will stay in power. American society in the 1920's boom was considerably different than the Great Depression. Why? The mentality of the society changed from "good times" to "destitution all around us." The Great Depression, by all accounts was a bad decade, but the reason why it was caused has been attributed to all three of the driving forces of history, and are, for that reason, beyond the purview of this debate. It is axiomatic that a good economy is beneficial to a healthy societal system, to say less of politics. The economy throughout history until the development of capitalism was primarily based off serfs producing and lords taking, in return granting the serfs "protection." The great conquests of increasing wealth was from wealth looted, instead of created. That looted wealth was where the real money to be taken was, and money translates to stature, and stature translates to power. With power, you can influence Politics and Society. The economy can be said to be affected by politics, but with a government system like that, you can expect that the market crashes directly after elections and improves directly before, if there is a government of the "grab as much money from the electorate as possible" persuasion. The kind that retires with a huge amount of money skimmed off projects to finance a mansion later. The economy was actually a legitimate reason for the colonies in the Caribbean to fight each other. Anybody remember the Spanish Treasure Fleet they packed with gold and goodies and sent back home? The occasional storm would sink a ship or two and then there would be squabbling over who would pick over the carcass, for example. Pirates, buccaneers, and privateers plied the waters in search of a big payout of gold and native artifacts. A sufficiently large and well-equipped crew in search of that payout may even go so far as to attack and sack a city, thus altering the geopolitical situation by removing a center of power for one country. The effects of that loss would damage the health of the society. Then there's the political implications. Those affected would be clamoring for more protection from their government. Because the aforementioned government would have a vested interest in the area, their requests would be granted, and politics would be affected by a shift in the balance of power, as a result of economic interests being threatened. The Industrial Revolution was propelled by economic forces altering the society. Before the Industrial revolution, the average person was a farmer. Farming back then was a 14-16 hour workday, now weekends off. When the Industrial revolution occurred, not only was there a chance to make obscene profits, but also the chance of work for better pay. Immigrants coming from other, less-developed, and monarchic countries took jobs in the factories because: 1. Economic incentives and 2. More freedom and security than what they had back in the old country The economic conditions some faced, when looking at the aforementioned obscene profits, caused them to become socialists. A large enough group of them emerged in Russia a few decades later and caused no end of trouble. Some of the socialists were vicious and violent and most tried to change the economy through society and politics. These were typically second and third generation immigrants, who, no longer as thankful for being in America, wanted to have control. There you have it. Economics is the major driving force of history. Almost every war fought had some economic incentive. The genocidal wars? Take their land and resources. The almost constant bickering between the French and the English? They both had interests in the area and threatened the other's, The Opium Wars? Over trading privileges. The Revolutionary War? Unfair taxation and bureaucrats taking a chunk of their income. World War I? That was over alliances, yes, and firmly political. World War II? The Germans wanted "Living space." The Communist Revolution? The Reds wanted more economic freedom so they could get away from their "oppressive" employers. And with that, I leave you to come up with a logical argument. Have a nice day.