>The rising value of an increasingly scarce resource is a form of
>monopoly rent, and a future permanent crude-oil regime of $50 per
>barrel (or higher) would transfer at least $1 trillion per decade
>from consumers to oil producers. In plain English, this would be the
>greatest robbery by a rentier elite in world history. Someday, Enron
>may seem like the equivalent of a liquor store hold-up by comparison.
If oil prices were to rise simply out of monopoly rents, and not serious supply problems, the rest of the bourgeoisie wouldn't stand for it. High oil prices are great for oil profits, but they hammer most other sectors, particuarly autos, airlines, and finance. Plus oil producing countries themselves have no long-term interest in super-high prices; they'd cause worldwide recession and a serious search for alternatives. And prices are set on the futures exchanges, not by OPEC or ExxonMobil.
Doug