If we search the roots of conflicts, social collapses, and even many non-natural disasters, we'll find an economic distortion or bust. Economic, monetary, and financial downturns and crashes are the mother and father of almost every other man-made SHTF.

That's because the systems supporting a complex civilization are based on economy, finance, and trading. When those crack or stumble, everything else follows. Economic and financial crises create imbalances that impact social cohesion by wreaking havoc on the supply chain and shrinking the pool of resources. 

I keep beating that drum, and that's how it is. When people are jobless, freezing, and starving, everyone retreats, and survival instinct kicks in. Priorities change, tensions rise, and it's harder to find common ground. That doesn't mean chaos everywhere, but given the gloomy economic outlook, the likelihood of wars and social unrest in some parts of the globe will increase in the coming years, that's for sure.