There is a way to defuse the situation. It's not easy. It's not cheap. It's not fast. But only Mars, the god of war, could love the alternative.
Earth needs a frontier.
Frontiers keep people employed by creating new markets. Frontiers explode zero-sum thinking. Frontiers spread people out. For a lot of reasons, Mars , the planet, qualifies. Its soil is rich in oxygen for life support and rocket propulsion.