wealth v. security

In class we were discussing wealth and security. Does the pursuit of wealth lead to peace/ will pursuing wealth make a nation more peaceful? The answer to both questions is no. The pursuit of wealth will lead only to conflict and war. Adam Smith coined the phrase "mercantile system" by which nations tried to increase their wealth through colonies. These colonies increased warfare and conflict to a point never before seen in history. This shows that when a country is in search of wealth it will increase, not decrease the chance of peace.
In the United States we can see that a rush for gold increases hatred as well. During the gold rush, there was large anti-chinese sentiment. This is because large numbers of Chinese were coming to the U.S. in search of U.S. gold. The United States citizens did not like this and so made sure that the chinese were not treated well in America.
These are a mere two instances of how the pursuit of wealth leads to hate and increased conflict. There are many more instances of wealth leading to hate and conflict. An example of that would be the blood or conflict diamonds.
For blood diamonds it was the pursuit of these riches that created war and slaughter. These diamonds have made it impossible for there to be peace anywhere that they happen to be. This is due to the fact that the diamonds are controlled by rebels who dislike the government and vice versa.
This shows that the pursuit of wealth leads to nations being split, increased warfare in and out of a country and large migrations that dislocate the native population in many cases.
The pursuit of wealth has never lead to a more peaceful nation and it never will. If anything the pursuit of wealth increases the ego of that nation to make it more willing to fight. Throughout history, and to the present day wealth and money have fostered war, envy, and hate. Never once has it inspired peace, love etc. The pursuit of wealth is dangerous and should not be taken lightly.