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James Howard Kunstler: Peak Oil and Our Financial Decline
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In this fifth video in the series “Peak Oil and a Changing Climate” from The Nation and On The Earth Productions, author, blogger and social critic James Howard Kunstler opens up on two circumstances he sees running neck and neck “that are going to put us out of business as an advanced industrial civilization”—the “fiasco” in banking, money and finance and the unfolding “energy predicament.” He explains that the crises are really all about “capital” and that we need to look at how wealth has been accumulated and deployed for productive purposes.
Kunstler suggests that “cheap abundant energy” has facilitated ever-increasing industrialization for centuries. But now that society is in a period of self-destructive capital accumulation, he expects debt to increase as abundance in energy drops. The tremendous amount of accumulated debt, “a by-product of cheap abundant energy,” will mean that in the future governments will be less able to make investments in socially-beneficial programs.
He also criticizes the US environmental movement for shying away from the problem of energy. The movement is unable to talk about walkable neighborhoods, smaller cities or investing in rail or water transit, an “intellectual failure of the culture to have a coherent conversation from people who ought to be leading” such a conversation.
Go here to learn more about “Peak Oil and a Changing Climate,” and to see the other videos in the series.
3 Comments on "James Howard Kunstler: Peak Oil and Our Financial Decline"
Kenz300 on Sat, 29th Jan 2011 1:00 am
Cheap energy has enabled globalization of the world economy. Expensive energy or limited energy will require us to look locally for goods and energy production.
We need to create sustainable communities with food, energy and products being produced locally with local labor.
The world population has grown by a billion people over the last 12 years.
Where will the limited resources of food, water, oil, phosphorous, tuna and rare earth metals come from to support this ever growing human population? Where will the jobs come from to provide incomes for these people?
We were not able to end hunger, poverty and despair when the world had 5 billion people and adequate resources. How will we cope in a world of 9 billion people with limited resources?
Our economic security and national security will depend on our ability to transition to alternative energy sources.
Bernd1964 on Sat, 29th Jan 2011 6:00 am
The fiat money system was always an elitist tool to rule, enslave and rob the common people. The creation of exponentially growing amounts of privately owned debt-based fiat money out of thin air by fractional reserve banking is a typical symptom and disease of the oil age. I think computers were mainly invented to manage huge amounts of money with the purpose to finally rule and enslave the whole world. Powerful money elites created countless crises and wars for their profits and against the explicit interests of the common man. I hope the coming peak oil collapse will end debt-based money forever. I want to see a reinvigoration of individual power, true values and real democracy in a re-localized and de-industrialized world.
James on Sat, 29th Jan 2011 8:04 am
The American people need to embrace the idea of bringing back the agrarian way of life we had before the “Great Industrial Revolution” came into being. Our industrial base has been decimated and according to the politicians will never come back. Our wages and salaries will never attain their pre-2008 levels except for the Elite and Corporations. The people who made up the middle class and poor need to form a new separate economy where we produce things for ourselves and local peoples. Bartering should supplement our means of getting our needs met. Bartering has the added virtue of not being taxable. The U.S. government won’t be able to provide the IRS with enough personnel to monitor and make evaluations for how much an item to barter is actually worth. The economies of our country will become local and will serve that local economy. The Rails will provide transportation between communities and cities. Boats would provide the movement of goods and people between international communities. Yes, things will slow down substantially. Mr. Kunstler is really a good person to listen to for future ideas.