Reply #66: not true

[William Z. Foster]

This is a way to district people from objective external reality, and get them to focus on themselves, their personal choices and lifestyles. That supports reactionary and right wing politics.

Oil is very recent, and society - the important things about society - have not changed much as a result. As late as WWI there were only a few in the British government, Churchill being the main example, who even understood that oil was going to be important at all. In my lifetime we saw the rise of plastics and other oil-derived products. Life was just fine without those. Better, if you ask me.

It can be argued - I would so argue - that things were better before oil, and that they could be much better without oil.

The rulers, the wealthy, have f*cked things up royally - they have just about destroyed the planet, they have crushed and destroyed indigenous peoples, sustainable cooperative communities, human culture, the environment. Now they want us to blame ourselves rather than them - "we are addicted to oil." Bullshit. They SOLD us on oil, just as they sold us on glorious Wall Street, and on every scam the investors have been pulling, Now they want US - the working people - to face austerity measures because THEY - the wealthy few - stole everything from us.

Everything you are talking about is part of the aberrant and destructive American suburban lifestyle, enjoyed by the privileged few at the expense of the rest of the world. That has to go, yes.