coal and capitalism

COAL AND CAPITALISM

Charles H Smith, captain of the economic exploration vessel Of Two Minds, is at it again with a wonderful article about how we are all going to die in the stewpot. Actually, what he said was that our system is designed in such a way that everyone works together to ensure that nothing is done even at the last minute. His analogy was that everyone thinks they are a first class passenger on the Titanic, and they all lounge about in first class and discuss the meaning of events long after the iceberg has been hit. Rather than head for the lifeboats. Hell, he writes it up a lot better than me so go on over there and read it yourself. I think this subject is very important since so many people have the illusion that larger than life hero’s will spring forth mightily and save the day. If nobody wants anything to change, our hero’s will simply be anti-social misfits banging their head against the wall. For instance, I call you all a bunch of selfish bastards and all I get is complaining about how you paid in for forty years and want some back. Relax, I’ve already admitted I’d do the same. But that is just the point. We all act in our own best interests. If the system, even a system that ensures our eventual demise, is designed to maximize personal wealth or even survival, than we all happily march along down the path. Again, he writes it up much better.

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjan11/conserving-doomed-systems01-11.html

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While Chuck is a great writer, and I do mosey on over to his site occasionally to enjoy, we do look at things from a different perspective. He is pretty much all economics and I like to downplay the money and politics and focus on energy. He acknowledges oil, but if I’m not mistaken it is from a Cheap Oil viewpoint. As in, look how cheaply our surplus was given to us. Not, look how no oil will doom us all. I’m not saying I am right and he is wrong. With any luck I’ll be long dead after a long life before the oil dries up. I don’t think that will happen, which is why I panic and prep. But knowing an event has a high probability of happening is not the same as thinking it will happen without fail. I know just enough about how my mind operates that I always throw in that 10% chance of being wrong. It keeps me humble and I don’t look as foolish. Well, you can all laugh at me and I can feel okay about myself since I hedged by bets with the lawyer weasel clause. Extreme high probability, almost guaranteed, etc. Okay, let’s get going here. Coal and capitalism. This is the reason I can take economics with a grain of salt. Why I place a lot less importance in its study than I used to. Just like in politics, once I realized the two parties were both in bed with the central bank I knew it was a waste of time to buy into their contrived drama. Capitalism is not a sacred creed. It is not a marvel of advanced intelligence. It isn’t the best economic system ever devised, and it will die soon.

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I don’t pretend to know a better way of doing things. Libertarian preaching’s of uninhibited activity between freemen sounds wonderful in theory. I love the concept myself. No government to provide protection at a 30% lose. The problem with this, anarchist capitalism and an anarchist utopia, even though I support it in theory, is that it goes against human nature. Most people want and might even need government. Putting aside all the other aspects of graft and dependence, the government both protects against foreigners and steals from foreigners as needed in emergencies ( as in, occupying the middle east to control the oil ).

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Even if an isolated society of like minded individuals formed a free society, any weapon that allowed them to protect themselves would also allow a larger government supported force to defeat them. Now, having said all that to convey to you that I want a freer form of capitalism and that I ain’t no suckass anal whoring socialist, I still think capitalism as is practiced is nothing more than a system designed to benefit the trio of central banks, government and corporations. And the only way this was able to happen on a large scale was the mining of coal ( and later the pumping of oil ). Industrialism allowed capitalism, needed capitalism, and only coal made it possible. Yes, I know water power was the early power in, say, New England. That was a regional advantage. Since the early machines were so inefficient water power was just as good as coal powered steam engines. But carbon fuel is the stored energy of the sun that allows power to be generated in any location at any time of day. That is the chief advantage. Anytime, anyplace. Capitalism couldn’t have evolved into globalism without that flexibility. You don’t need water to power the engines or to transport the goods. Yes, water transportation is much more energy efficient. But opting for the less efficient rail or road allows you to build were it is cheapest. Other economic systems didn’t have that flexibility. They didn’t need them as they were local. As the Druid Dude has pointed out, a feudal economy has no incentive to be more efficient as that would have been disruptive.

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Capitalism has just as many good and bad points as other economic systems. But it has to work with reality, whatever system you are using. If oil is your energy source, you can ignore solar inputs for a long time. If you are strictly agriculturalist than you have different economic needs. Capitalism will die with the oil. I’m not saying it deserves to die, necessarily, just that it can’t live without carbon fuels to dislocate itself from geography. Adam Smith was the cheerleader for industrialism. He was not a god handing down holy writ.

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