Resource Fascism

Filed under: Peak Oil, biofuels, corporatism,

geopolitics, neo-feudalism, resource fascism

As the reality of resource limitations becomes apparent, our societies seem determined to dig in to “defend” our god-given birthright to a high-impact, high-consumption lifestyle. This remains the measure of the standard of living, and it remains the ideological premise from which growth and debt spring as the basic strategy. But in a world with a shrinking resource base, productive output and even ficticious paper wealth must diminish. The pie must shrink, and at that point, no matter what the economics textbooks say, high-consumption becomes a zero sum game. “The economy” becomes war by other means. It’s no longer a matter of defending an idol, but of aggressively propping it up. We no longer worship at a stone altar which anchors life and organizes the chaos around it into a harmonious order. Now it’s an altar of straw which permanently burns, and only ever more extreme, more destructive, more violent measures can contain the flames. The smoke obscures the rest of our sight, and our lives are diminished to tunnelling back and forth through the darkness and soot, carrying poisoned water which may run out at any time. So it goes with fossil fuel civilization, with “growth”. Peak Oil is upon us, the great crisis, the great unfolding disaster. It’s clear that the First World will attempt to meet it with a corresponding social and political disaster. Activists call for relocalization, deconcentration of wealth and land, the dismantling of big banks and big agriculture, the descent of power. All these will come eventually. But for the present days, everything is violently propelled in the opposite direction. Big government and big corporations, now in full disaster capitalist mode, are further increasing and concentrating wealth and power. The people have displayed their basic self-enslavement by accepting this looting regime. This is because in spite of their rapidly deteriorating material position they still cling to the consumerist delusion. It’s this concurrence of master and slave which will dictate the politics of the next two decades. ( learn more at)