TOD: Robert F. Kennedy on Defining GDP and Some Other Thoughts

A number of days ago, on a website of a particularly enlightened economist, I came across an excerpt from a speech given by Sen. Robert F. Kennedy on March 18, 1968, at the University of Kansas. He was on the campaign trail in the US 1968 presidential race, and that context makes these words even more amazing. Less than three months later, he was shot and killed in California. Embedded above is a video montage with words from the speech, and the text follows below.


…Amongst those who acknowledge the reality of Peak Oil, a number believe that we can continue (perhaps after a brief pause) to increase the energy input into the economy. Given the amount of solar energy available, this is certainly a theoretical possibility. Others believe that, while energy use might decrease, economic growth can continue because of efficiency gains and changes in the nature of the economy (from industrial to information). Data such as that shown below lend credence to this idea:

There are two flaws in this line of reasoning, the first being that this is data only for the US. Much of what is now consumed in the US is now manufactured in Asia. Thus, the energy consumption associated with that manufacturing doesn’t show up on the US balance sheet.

The Oil Drum