How Can Lower Oil Prices be used to Reduce Terrorism?

Lower crude oil prices could do more for us than just reduce the cost of filling the gas tank.

If the powers in the Arab world are as smart as we think, they will see that lower oil prices seriously curtail their ability to create mischief for the west (while lowering the living standards for many Arabs to a danger point).

And the Arab powers, including the powerful clerics, might just conclude that one way to stop the major decline in oil revenues is to stop the mischief and terrorism they have fostered.

Can the Arab thought leaders actually stop terrorism?  If it is true that they generated it in the first place, then it follows that they can stop it.  Actually they probably are the only ones with the power, know-how and local authority to halt or reduce terrorism unless, of course, it has grown more powerful than they are - - which is doubtful. 

Can anyone recall a single cleric who ever criticized terrorists or threatened the families of terrorists??

With crude prices down 75% from the recent high, the decrease has to hurt, or will hurt the living standards for all in the oil-influenced world.  And this could get threatening and put added pressure on the Arab thought-leaders to reduce their encouragement of “pain and suffering” for the west.

RELATED QUESTION/ACTION

Already oil prices and terrorism have driven the western powers to replace or reduce their need for oil.  And the effort will continue unless the west foolishly believes a $40. or even $50. a barrel will be the going rate.  That would be the second time in recent times that we “wasted a crisis” to quote others.  The west works hardest to replace oil when high oil prices make the job easier and more urgent.  The west should not relax its effort on temporary price declines for crude.  In fact, there is some justification for putting a surcharge on petro when gas prices drop BUT with the discipline to use ALL the oil surcharges to invent our way out of the current need for so much oil.  Then we should use whatever profit comes out of the successful research for oil reductions to create a new – technology that would up world wide living standard and repay the western world surcharges.

The key is to discipline ourselves to carefully book keep so all surcharges go to meaningful research for oil replacement/reductions and then repay those surcharges with profits from the savings from whatever is developed/invented.

If the west can’t so discipline itself, then it must accept the consequences of undisciplined weakness.  And it, therefore, must accept the continued threat of terrorist mischief financed by oil prices the west can’t control.  

The Upside to a Downside Economy

Could the current economic crisis generate, on its own, a truly higher living standard for the world overall? And a more peaceful and productive world as well?

And could the reliable and repeatable laws of need, supply and profitable exchange be harnessed to stimulate a better and more stable world?

There is early evidence that a new kind of economy could emerge – and that it could make life brighter everywhere.

Here’s how:

Because of the speeded-up information flow, much of the world is coming to believe a fact that was not always accepted and certainly not universally. That fact is that most of the world economy is so closely integrated that it moves rapidly in sync, lock-stepped one to another -- and fast.

The world has clearly seen how swift a credit crunch in the U.S. can affect housing prices inLondon or net export prices from India. How migration from the Chinese farms can influence prices in Wal Mart in the U.S. or oil prices in Canada and food prices almost everywhere. And eventually jobs in most places.

This newly-dramatized interdependence of national economic systems could be used to reduce political differences as well as to generate a new level of profitable international activity and mutual synergies. All of this is driven, not by altruistic intent, but by hard economic reality and necessity. (The toughest master, but the most certain). The end result could be a new and special economic closeness that would stimulate the affected economies to produce a better living standard for all, and likewise reduce wasteful political tensions.

A most recent example: Taiwan and mainland China, after 65 years of dangerous conflict, now being pulled close to each other by economic needs and desires that over ride their political differences (producing even a timely gift of Pandas).

A reduction in nation-to-nation strife eventually could reduce the funds earmarked for mutual defense, those funds, redirected to pursuits that improve the lives of humans everywhere. (DoesCosta Rica have a better life than its Central American neighbors because its only known military is a big local police force?) Is it therefore possible that the new awareness of mutual economic dependence could be harnessed and do for human kind what the world hoped could be accomplished by the United Nations 60 some years ago? The major difference is that the UN was motivated by good intentions while the interdependence of nations is driven by the hard facts and the laws of economics that are mostly motivated by ingrained human behavior as opposed to intentions, however well-meaning. One accepted way to better understand history is to follow the real motivations of the forces behind the past events as opposed to the publicized or popular motivations cited at that time to justify the actions taken.

Therefore it may turn out that the tough rules and laws of economics could do for the world living standards and peace what the UN was chartered to do at the outset. After all nations shouldn’t pick political wars with their best customers or their necessary suppliers or even with nations whose bonds reside in their treasuries or bank accounts of their citizen-owners of major business and income producers.

In fact that should be the goal of fixing the current world economy; indeed it would be a very low tuition to pay.

The remaining question is this: How or who can provide the encouragement and discipline to let the new awareness of economic inter-dependence lead us to a new happier world? It’s a big job and the stakes are high.