A temporary reduction in industrial output will slow the immediate demand for oil -- and that's oil they'll have to use later in the game for their military machines. If common civilians around the globe can't afford oil now... that's just oil that will remain and be used to suppress them later. We are talking about literal, political, and military power. The ruling elites are the ones who are truly looking at the long-term -- with the intention of retaining and maintaining their status. They understand what's coming and this is why, for example, President George Bush recently purchased 100,000 acres in Paraguay on top of the Guarani Aquifer, one of the largest underground freshwater reserves.
As resources are drained, the water is polluted, and the overall environment is laid to waste (all while the population continues to boom)... the ruling classes are literally and figuratively positioning themselves to ride out the coming storm.
WORSE THAN A DEPRESSION
People like to say that history repeats itself (because similar events do take place throughout history), but we are living in unprecedented historical times. We have an historically unprecented number of people using, and depending upon, more BTUs that ever before. Simultaneously, the environmental conditions are in a worse state than ever before in human existence (dead zones in the ocean, polluted freshwater, deforestation of an epic scale, rapid desertification, and the mass extinction of untold species because of human activity). These are very serious issues not to dismissed, overlooked, or forgotten. We also have more governments around the world armed with historically unparalleled weaponry.
But before we look at the obvious consequences of those facts just mentioned, let's look at the more immediate consequences of the dire economic straits which Americans (and citizens of other industrialized nations) now find themselves in.
The stock market collapse has already wiped out the life savings and retirement funds of many Americans. Home foreclosures are at an unprecedented rate. Unemployment and underemployment rates are incredibly high. Disposable income is down as food and fuel costs have skyrocketed. Crime rates in the USA, "land of the free," are only kept in check by the massive prison-industrial complex which jails more people in total numbers (and per-capita) than any other nation. Corporate raiders, stealing hundreds of billions of dollars, are given a walk. The banking system is in collapse and runs on the banks are getting louder and more frequent.
When they piece it together, and look at it as a whole, anyone can see that this does not bode well for the immediate future (never mind the long term for a moment). Violent crime in the U.S. is about to skyrocket. We are going to see Americans fight tooth and nail as they attempt a futile defense of their consumeristic lifestyles -- and that's even before food and fuel costs really catch up with them. Any ideal you may have of capitalism is going to crumble because it fundamentally depends on parties X & Y trusting each other enough and being able to prevent violent renegotiations of any and every deal. It's not going to be... "Oh well, despite the fact that I worked hard and saved, I'll just starve and live a life of dilapidated poverty." Some will accept that, but enough will not -- thus make things more than interesting (in the worst sense of the word).
The sad fact is that there are very many small-minded and corrupt people who will use this current scenario to promote the worst political agendas. Race-baiting will become more frequent. Anti-immigrant movements will grow. Socially authoritarian idealogues will blame the situation on individual vice and a lack of fundamentalist religion. The police state will expand as the authorities struggle to maintain their control. Any idealogical threats to the elite's status will be crushed as quickly as any actual physical threats. A new push towards totalitarian fascism will make the last ten years look like a stroll through Freedomtown.
And that's before, above & beyond, any widespread international conflicts created by the governmental leaders (which are specifically designed to distract and/or horde more in their own best interests). Again, what the do you think the war in Iraq is really about, Iraqi liberation? Securing America from al Queda? Yeah, right.
I have the belief that Homo sapien sapiens flourished by means of their aggressive (de)evolution and that they wiped out other more passive and intelligent Homo genus relatives (like Homo sapiens idaltu [roughly translated as "elder wise human"] and Homo neanderthalensis). And that trend will continue now as the more peaceful (& more intelligent) humans are quickly and easily disposed of. The cooperative peaceniks amongst us (by definition) won't put up much of a fight -- and that will leave more hostile warmongers to comprise the bulk of humanity.
And while essential resources become more scarce, the militaries of the world are armed with the most devastating weapons ever created. They can scorch and irradiate the entire face of the Earth. Based on their track record, why would one doubt that they might? I mean, let's assume President Truman was relatively mild... there are far more ruthless leaders now and more of them are in possession of even deadlier weapons. Your hopes that there will never be another (more limited) nuclear strike will not change the tendencies of evil and irrational leaders who are more empowered than ever.
We are in serious trouble. If we do not adequately recognize the real threats to humanity (and the biosphere as a whole) we will not be able to adequately come up with a life-affirming response. Sadly, we may not be able to anyway. Culturally we have been conditioned to expect a happy ending... but this isn't a bedtime story or a Hollywood movie. The good guys don't always win and the planet may not be saved in the final scene.
As resources are drained, the water is polluted, and the overall environment is laid to waste (all while the population continues to boom)... the ruling classes are literally and figuratively positioning themselves to ride out the coming storm.
WORSE THAN A DEPRESSION
People like to say that history repeats itself (because similar events do take place throughout history), but we are living in unprecedented historical times. We have an historically unprecented number of people using, and depending upon, more BTUs that ever before. Simultaneously, the environmental conditions are in a worse state than ever before in human existence (dead zones in the ocean, polluted freshwater, deforestation of an epic scale, rapid desertification, and the mass extinction of untold species because of human activity). These are very serious issues not to dismissed, overlooked, or forgotten. We also have more governments around the world armed with historically unparalleled weaponry.
But before we look at the obvious consequences of those facts just mentioned, let's look at the more immediate consequences of the dire economic straits which Americans (and citizens of other industrialized nations) now find themselves in.
When they piece it together, and look at it as a whole, anyone can see that this does not bode well for the immediate future (never mind the long term for a moment). Violent crime in the U.S. is about to skyrocket. We are going to see Americans fight tooth and nail as they attempt a futile defense of their consumeristic lifestyles -- and that's even before food and fuel costs really catch up with them. Any ideal you may have of capitalism is going to crumble because it fundamentally depends on parties X & Y trusting each other enough and being able to prevent violent renegotiations of any and every deal. It's not going to be... "Oh well, despite the fact that I worked hard and saved, I'll just starve and live a life of dilapidated poverty." Some will accept that, but enough will not -- thus make things more than interesting (in the worst sense of the word).
The sad fact is that there are very many small-minded and corrupt people who will use this current scenario to promote the worst political agendas. Race-baiting will become more frequent. Anti-immigrant movements will grow. Socially authoritarian idealogues will blame the situation on individual vice and a lack of fundamentalist religion. The police state will expand as the authorities struggle to maintain their control. Any idealogical threats to the elite's status will be crushed as quickly as any actual physical threats. A new push towards totalitarian fascism will make the last ten years look like a stroll through Freedomtown.
And that's before, above & beyond, any widespread international conflicts created by the governmental leaders (which are specifically designed to distract and/or horde more in their own best interests). Again, what the do you think the war in Iraq is really about, Iraqi liberation? Securing America from al Queda? Yeah, right.
I have the belief that Homo sapien sapiens flourished by means of their aggressive (de)evolution and that they wiped out other more passive and intelligent Homo genus relatives (like Homo sapiens idaltu [roughly translated as "elder wise human"] and Homo neanderthalensis). And that trend will continue now as the more peaceful (& more intelligent) humans are quickly and easily disposed of. The cooperative peaceniks amongst us (by definition) won't put up much of a fight -- and that will leave more hostile warmongers to comprise the bulk of humanity.
And while essential resources become more scarce, the militaries of the world are armed with the most devastating weapons ever created. They can scorch and irradiate the entire face of the Earth. Based on their track record, why would one doubt that they might? I mean, let's assume President Truman was relatively mild... there are far more ruthless leaders now and more of them are in possession of even deadlier weapons. Your hopes that there will never be another (more limited) nuclear strike will not change the tendencies of evil and irrational leaders who are more empowered than ever.
We are in serious trouble. If we do not adequately recognize the real threats to humanity (and the biosphere as a whole) we will not be able to adequately come up with a life-affirming response. Sadly, we may not be able to anyway. Culturally we have been conditioned to expect a happy ending... but this isn't a bedtime story or a Hollywood movie. The good guys don't always win and the planet may not be saved in the final scene.
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