Profit Over People: on Energy & Oil


Oil is cheap because Pentagon’s expenditures keep it cheap

Postwar development relied on cheap & abundant oil, kept that way largely by threat or use of force. So matters continue. A large part of the Pentagon budget is devoted to keeping Middle East oil prices within a range that the US and its energy companies consider appropriate. The only technical study of the topic concludes that Pentagon expenditures amount to a subsidy of 30% of the market price of oil. Estimates of alleged efficiencies of trade are of limited validity if we ignore such hidden costs.
Source: Profit Over People, by Noam Chomsky, p. 30-31 Jul 2, 1996

  • The above quotations are from Profit Over People: Neoliberalism & Global Order, by Noam Chomsky.
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Page last updated: Feb 21, 2019