"A civil war would damage their investments, obliterate the economy they've been using to control everything"
I get the point being made in this article and I'm not arguing against it but I would point out that the obliteration of the economy is inevitable at this point. It's not a question of if, only when the next crash happens. If there is one thing the ruling elite are blinded by it's greed. They believe they can continue taking more when they already have as much as they've ever had. Wealth inequality levels were already at the worst they've been since pre-Great Depression before the massive tax cut they just gave themselves. None of the causes of the 2008 crash have been resolved and have gotten worse since. The only recovery has been for those at the very top. All of the bubbles have been reinflated and more bubbles have been added. Add to that the current deregulation spree of the Trump administration and an ever increasingly automated work force and you've got a recipe for economic disaster.
I'm not saying a violent civil war will break out on American soil. What I am saying is that the current economic model being used to keep the peasants in line is not sustainable and shit's gonna get real ugly when the inevitable collapse happens.
I am with your statements in the last paragraph, America is no where near a civil war. Depending on whether changes are made to the current economic model will eventually determine if there ever will be, basically because you are right, it just isn't sustainable.