The real issue is, excluding some so far unknown technological miracles, the peak of oil production means we are going to become poorer in terms of goods and services we can buy, a decline that might be masked by monetary inflation. This is the hard truth almost nobody wants to face. (I don't.) A decline is tolerable in case of war or a business cycle or some brief emergency, but even in a civilization not based on "the American dream," a long-term decline might be unwelcome or even devastating.Read the whole book review, and read the book (check it out from the public library?).
World on the Edge
I argue that we need to change our definition of poor. I think a child raised with all the electronic devises available but who has never seen a deer in his back yard might be considered poor. To discover a red trillium, or see a mountain lion in the wild... intangibles whose value cannot be measured in dollars, or square feet, add to our net worth, and we are richer for them.
But nobody counts that anymore.
I am starting to see all my stuff as a burden. Are you?
"decline that might be masked by monetary inflation."
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't see how inflation could mask paying more for what we need. An increase in inflation is a decrease in buying power. I know that is small potatoes. The coming changes are going to be rough on everyone. My hope is that it is more gradual and less sudden than it could be.