Hi @redbeardguy !

I'd like to say a few things about this.

First, it's really hard to speak of wars in history before the printing press (and even after for some time) as history was perpetually rewritten each time a new ruler arrived and needed to create a legend around him. So lot of the wars we think happened may have not. And a lot we think never happened might have.

Then, you can't compare wars before the second industrial revolution / discovery of oil and wars after. Before, the economy was a state's affair and wars were made to replenish the coffers. It might have been used (with raiding) to encourage farmers to become soldiers or government officials or merchants to populate and boost growth in emerging cities, as these were a major and necessary tool (and are still today) to build a strong central administration. It also served to strengthen the sense of national unity. As in that time, they were few to no way(s) for the central power to communicate with the majority of his territory. So wars were really economical and political.

After the industrial revolution, wars became almost essentially economics. It was now a way for the state to subsidize his economy by taking large contracts with private societies. And even more recently, it's purely economical and wars are now declared by private-sector companies (and even fought by them) for the increase in their stock prices that they generate. Think of it as a economically virtuous (but humanly unhealthy circle) : You're paid to produce bombs, planes, tanks and such -> You're paid to put soldiers in the field -> You're paid to reconstruct the damage done -> Next country. And once the loop is closed , you start all over.

For your other remarks, there are still traditional wars (as explained just above) going on today : Syria and Yemen for example, that fully respect the schema I described. And no Internet nor election results seem to matter for the real instigators (Europe / America / Saudi Arabia - the profiteers) as they control the media to put the blame on anyone they see fit.
Wars always had an open front and an hidden one. All wars were cold, all wars were hot, and often at the same time. It depends on your location and your situation.

And to answer (or try to) to your main question : "Is World Peace Something Possible?"
Yes it is, but a lot of things need to change. All economics related to war must fall back in the public sector, so there's no private profit to be made from it.
People need to understand that there's no "hero death" possible in war, as you're just doing your job.
And after that, political power must be given back to the people, as nobody wants to see their sons / daughters killed. But as long as we're living in fake democracies, with falsified election results, putting in power people who have vested interests in the banking, military and industrial sectors (all the war profiteers) there's no hope for a change.