OPEC Must Also Bear The Pain of the Great Depression II
Economics / Recession 2008 - 2010 Mar 31, 2009 - 03:09 PM GMTBy: Submissions
Dr. Raju M. Mathew writes: Age of Booms - OPEC had enjoyed all the pleasures of the boom for a very long time and that made them to become the richest bloc of the world as oil price jumped to more than $100 and to some extent to $ 147 from a reasonable price of $ 40 per barrel. As a result, their unspent oil reserve funds exceeded in terms of several trillions, far ahead of the entire wealth of over 70% of the developing countries of the world.
Consumerism
OPEC have become super-rich with their over priced oil supplied to not only the industrialized countries but also the less developed countries of the world. OPEC has emerged as the biggest monopoly so as to dictate the price of oil as long as demand was there. OPEC have become very effective to protect the interest of its members, even challenging the very existence of the oil importing countries and thereby the global economy. OPEC have played a strategic and hidden role in bring the present global crisis, the Great Depression II by squeezing wealth of several nations and making them poor for the sake of their greed, affluence and promiscuous consumption. As a result, a large number of the OPEC citizens have been reduced into mere slaves of consumerism. Some of the members of OPEC have turned corrupt and inefficient and prodigal too.
Goose that Lays Golden Eggs
To OPEC, all oil importers and consumers are mere goose laying golden eggs. They are too wise enough to kill the goose, the oil importing countries by cutting oil production and creating an artificial price increase. They know that no nation can afford to buy oil for more than $ 40 when the entire world is in the grip of the Great Depression II. The world has more cars than what it needs. Without burning so much oil and making so much travel and even paying one third of the salary for the CEOs, the world economy can function more efficiently than ever. For the very survival of the humanity, we have to reduce our oil consumption and reduce the cost of production and cost of living to the extent of 40 to 60 per cent.
OPEC recently fixed the fair price of oil as $78, for they want to make fresh investment. That means, for a very long time, they plundered the world community by charging a very high price over the fair price. Further, they have been trying to convince the world that the present crisis is only a short term one and for the sake of future oil supply, the minimum price must be fixed at $ 78. That means, they want to continue their old life style and are not prepared to share the burden of the present crisis but to transfer it on others.
The Great Depression II
But the world is under the spell of the Great Depression II, more sever than the previous Great Depression of 1939. The present crisis is the creation of a group of rich countries of the west, besides the OPEC for their uncontrolled greed and consumerism. Globalization and Information Technology have been designed as the tools by which the entire world has to bear the pain and sufferings of the Great Depression II. Of course, the greatest victims are the poor, especially of Asia, Africa and Latin America. However, the benefits of the earlier booms had never been reached to the poor but amassed by the rich and powerful, including OPEC.
Collapse of the Global Economy
The global economy is one the verge of a collapse and it cannot be saved by some stimulus packages created with very huge debt or deficit, protecting consumerism. It would aggravate the crisis within one year after some initial signs of recovery in one or two sectors. Most of the stimulus packages are designed on the assumption that the crisis will be over within one year. But, it must take at least five years for the global economy to recover from the Great Depression II because it is so weak and sick and its wounds are so deep. The global economy is totally imbalanced and disintegrated, designed to work against the poor nations. The so called rich people or nations too are getting poor because the earth does not have the adequate resources to afford their consumerism and affluence.
OPEC Too Must Share the Burden
It is a fact OPEC has to make fresh investment for the future supply of oil. Of course, they should have to make the investment by using their own reserve funds or the accumulated profits made by selling the over priced oil even to the developing and poor countries of the world. The fresh investment could be made without transferring the pain on the shoulders of the entire world. The member countries of OPEC must be prepared to control their extravagancies and spendthrift mentality by making themselves free from consumerism. If the world as a whole is suffering from the Great Depression II, OPEC too must be prepared to share the pain and to express their solidarity with the rest of the people. Other wise, OPEC would be treated the enemy of the rest of the world. OPEC must come out from its thick shell to save the global economy and the suffering millions with viable proposals rather than the confined to the profit motive and amassing the wealth of the world.
* This is the fourth series of writings of on ‘The Great Depression II’ by Dr. Raju M. Mathew. His previous writing can be found if a search is made under ‘Dr. Raju M. Mathew’ or ‘Great Depression II’
Dr. Raju M. Mathew can be contacted by e-mail: rajoocyber@yahoo.com.
Some of his other works are given in his site: www.ifkt.net
Dr. Raju M. Mathew is a strategist and theoretician with strong background in Economics, Cybernetics, Education and Information Science & Technology with long years of experience in teaching and research, including directing a major research project and supervising ten doctoral works. The Netherlands based FID nominated him as one of the twelve international members for its Committee on Research on Theoretical Basis of Information Science in 1983.
Dr. Mathew formulated two basic theories of knowledge consumption and knowledge production that got published jointly by the FID and the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1985 in the work, ‘Theoretical Problems of Informatics’. Now these theories are known in his name and have become the field for doctoral research.
In 2005, Prof. Mathew proposed Knowmatics and Knowledge Technology as the two Post-Information Technology disciplines for processing and handling knowledge so as to develop knowledge industries. He also set up the International Forum for Knowmatics & Knowledge Technology (IFKT). Some of his works are available in the site: www.ifkt.net
Dr. Mathew is on a mission of making the world aware of the impacts and intensities of the present crisis, the Great Depression II of 2009 and persuading the governments and international agencies to formulate correct strategies and policies and implement them urgently to deal with it and make an early recovery from it, so as to save the lives of millions, especially the young.
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