Answer:
The U.S. political system remained intact, while Germany's democratic Weimar Republic collapsed.
I would say Social/Religious causes. He is promoting the "Britons" as a benefit to all of humanity even to the point that he is justifying the taking of other's lands. He does not say anything about economic benefits to these people or political benefits, merely that Britons are honorable so they deserve it.
Strong navies were incredibly important to European mercantilism because they were needed to protect the merchant ships from pirates, who were common and would raid the ships for profit.
A politician would be most likely to ignore the results of a public opinion poll on a particular subject if he or she knows that doing so will have a positive impact on the people being represented--since this means he or she will be doing the right thing in the long-run.
