Inevitable Consequences
I can sympathize with tricycle drivers wanting to go on strike in protest at rising fuel prices. Indeed rising prices is an issue which concerns us all, since the increasing cost of gasoline will in due course be passed on to us, and it is we the consumers who will ultimately have to pay. Since food also needs to be transported, the cost of food is also likely to rise.
This situation is currently affecting the whole world, and is largely due to the collapse of the oil industry in Libya, and the uncertainty that this has created in other oil producing countries in the Middle East.
In Russia the situation is also grim. Although a major oil producer itself, Russian oil companies have chosen to export their oil rather than use it to supply local filling stations since oil which is exported invariably commands a higher price. Motorists now have to queue at those gasoline stations which still have a supply, to the great frustration of all.
Nor is our situation likely to improve any time soon, since the discontent and unrest which have arisen as a consequence have only made the situation worse. When people go on strike the economy inevitably suffers, which simply gives rise to a further increase in prices. And so the unending spiral continues.
Take an extreme case such as Libya where people who struggled to make a living became so angry that they took up arms against Gadafi and his government. Food prices and poverty were not the only issues but they did play a major part.
I personally feel great sympathy for the people of Libya, but what has been achieved so far? Oil production has stopped, the country’s refineries and infrastructure have been destroyed, the tourists have disappeared, and the migrant workers on whom the country is so dependent have all gone home. This leaves the country with virtually no income at all. As a consequence, the very same people who wanted desperately to improve their situation and lift themselves out of poverty have fallen into an economic abyss.
The trouble in the Middle East looks set to continue, and this will have repercussions all around the world. The most likely outcome is that food and fuel prices will continue to rise, and regrettably there is very little that we can do about it. It all comes down to market forces which are beyond our control.
Where it will all end is anybody’s guess. America is struggling with high unemployment and a financial crisis, Europe is under the threat of a financial meltdown as first Greece, then Ireland and now Portugal turn to the IMF for money to cover their debt. Japan is struggling to cope with the devastation caused by the recent tsunami, and the list goes on.
The world is now so interconnected such that whatever happens in one country will have a knock on effect elsewhere, and we need to be prepared. If the price of food is going to rise then what we should be doing right now is planting vegetables on whatever spare piece of land we can find. What we should be doing right now is tightening our belts in preparation for what I fear will be the inevitable consequences of the discontent that is gripping the World today./TE
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