Oil Quotes
At the time, the Russian economy was dominated by and dependent upon their exports of oil and natural gas. The rest of the economy was relatively weak.
Almost a century later dirty vegetable oils from fast food restaurants were used in Diesel truck and tractor engines very effectively and efficiently.
This was an amazingly prescient view of the future.
Standard Oil was found guilty after over 400 witnesses of violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and the company was broken up. However this quotation and {629196} were crucial in the decision against Standard. Very often, the defense of the successful monopolist is that the industry could not have been made successful other than the way he did it.
Water has always been in short supply in the Middle East. For thousands of years in the past water rights and possession was the cause of many conflicts. The rapid increase in fertility and population in the Muslim countries of the Middle East has placed even more stress on the water supply while waste is common. Fortunately Israel and Turkey have developed many techniques of using water efficiently. However, the rest of the Middle Eastern nations are slow to adopt these methods of water conservation, water generation and production, and agriculture that requires much less water than in the past. Politics, religion, and culture can be barriers or facilitators.
At the time Vidal, who shared this view with many economists, had no inkling of the digital revolution that the PC and Internet would bring, nor the other phenomena that eliminated the need for cheap labor — robotics and offshoring. Nor could he have foreseen the development of fracking making America virtually energy independent as it was before WWII. It appears that the problem has shifted from Vidal's issues, to that of what do we do with the American citizens who do not have advanced skills nor do we have methods of educating them and training them to this level. The quotation illustrates that it is always difficult predicting the future, but particularly hazardous when it comes to economics.
This particular quotation is used by critics of American foreign policy in the Middle East alleging that all American policy is directed at seizing Middle Eastern oil.
His foundation is trying to improve development and health in much of the world and he was remarking on how difficult it is if the local government is not attuned to it and supportive.
