Jeff Rubin’s Economics: Oil and the End of Globalization

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Summary review
Relating information from Rubin’s book to other courses
New aspects learned from Rubin’s book
Informative parts in the book
Lessons learned from the book.
Conclusion

Introduction

Jeff Rubin, a competent and globally renowned energy specialist, has written a book that is crucial for the Americans and all nations across the world. Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller: oil and the end of globalization is a chef-d’oeuvre book that speculates on the future of the international economy in the face of diminishing oil reserves and the implications of the same to the people around the world.

His previous accurate insights on the economic discourse earn him a wide acceptance and acknowledgment to his new writing. Rubin examines the economic nightmares accompanied by cheap oil prices coupled with how this scenario will lead to the depletion of the energy resources and gradually result in a small world. For example, the availability of cheap oil propels international trade, thus encouraging globalization.

If cheap oil were not available, globalization could not be achievable. In this book, the author examines the relationship that defines industrial production, mortgages, airliners, ship transport, and any other kind of machinery relying on cheap oil.

Unlike most economic experts, Rubin tries to simplify his work by giving elaborate examples coupled with using simple language to express his ideas. The book is understandable even to non-economists. This paper reviews the book, Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller: oil and the end of globalization, by Jeff Rubin.

Summary review

Jeff Rubin releases provocative speculation by arguing that unlike the already observed economic fluctuations, a rise in oil prices is ought to be experienced immediately as the economy steadies. Rubin expounds that oil reserves are being depleted across the world and very little can be done to reverse the situation.

Even what might be termed as fuel conservation measures is not a remedy to the declining oil reserves. Consequently, worldwide trade will be altered due to the minimized movement of goods, services, and people across different nations.

The future that everyone expects will not be; on the contrary, it will look more of the ancient days, which were characterized by minimal trade and travel due to fuel constraints. Rubin argues that the fact that oil wells are diminished every day is a clear indication that oil prices will always go up since there is no alternative source of the same. Efforts to explore more oil or seek alternatives will only lead to the burning of more oil.

Why does Rubin talk about globalization? How does globalization relate to oil scarcity? These are some of the questions answered in Rubin’s book. Globalization involves different countries coming together to form trade partnerships through trade unions. However, the movement of goods and people is enabled via seas, airlines, or land transport.

However, with little oil, movement is limited. Rubin predicts a situation whereby oil will become scarce, thus escalating the prices, which heralds a steady decline in traveling and transportation. This scenario means that countries will be contained within their borders, thus ending the prospects of globalization.

However, Rubin explores possible remedies to the escalating oil problems and recommends that the society should adopt highly localized energy measures or keep experiencing recession continuously, which implies that the limited supply will never match the high demand. Rubin predicts that crude oil prices will rise within the near future, which means that the global economy will decline and people across the world will have to devise ways of coping with the unavailability of energy.

Rubin sends a warning about how the future might be limiting and the surprise that oil scarcity might pull especially to the developed countries. He argues that oil demand is higher than ever before, as industrial economies are currently in need of a high supply of oil to keep producing their goods. Unlike other key economic inputs, oil shocks will lead to economic downfalls. Rubin examines the extent to which oil covers every aspect of human lives and why there are no other options to solve the problem.

For instance, he observes the danger being posed by the OPEC nations and he argues that the domestic policies on fuel consumption are encouraging depletion due to the availability of cheap oil, thus leading to high use of the product. He points out that the rate of oil decline is tremendous with an indicated rate of 6.7 percent annually according to a report released by the International Energy Agency in 2008.

Rubin disputes most of the so-called energy conservation measures. Those who comment on his work argue about technology, introducing alternatives and affordable ways of burning oil, developing less oil consuming machinery, and inventing highly conservative means of heating at homes.

However, Rubin observes the opposite and insists that technology cannot save the situation. Instead, from past observations, all efforts to achieve efficiency in consumption have been in vain. This aspect only favors consumers and by lowering the cost, they respond by increasing their consumption levels. The aspect of the world becoming smaller stands out clearly in the face of the challenges of accessing far end destinations in the absence of oil.

China is currently attracting trade partners from far ends of the world. However, in the near future and with Rubin’s predictions happening, China will be unreachable as cost of transportation will skyrocket, thus making goods intended for overseas markets to be released into the domestic markets. This aspect will pose a serious danger to the global economy due to bad disposal of surplus by an individual nation.

Rubin predicts a time when humanity will be compelled to repair or rather recycle commodities instead of disposing of them as a measure of curbing the immediate and future crises due to energy scarcity. He foretells a time when people will be compelled to change their eating habits, as food imports will decline. This scenario will encourage local production. People will eat what they have and vehicles will be left at homes, thus reducing their manufacturing.

People from the suburbs will stop commuting and move to the cities, thus leading to overcrowding. Rubin sees a moment when, for instance, Canadians will cut international travels and instead tour domestic destinations. These compelling moments will be inescapable, and they will benefit the environment due to reduced fuel emissions. The world will grow greener and become highly productive.

In the eyes of Rubin, the rising construction and modernization of infrastructure are of no economic gain in his predicted near future. For instance, the Pearson International Airport received a surprise response on its first years of operation and decided to increase the capacity. Rubin advises otherwise and warns that people should stop building, since as early as 2020; the closure of airlines will be inevitable.

In an effort to save the environment, countries like China will be the big losers since high tariffs will be imposed against carbon emissions. In a bid to achieve this goal, Rubin observes that states like the US and Canada may decide to tighten their policies on carbon emissions and elevate the standards for their trade partners. Chinese exporters will be compelled to avoid carbon emissions. However, China may opt to seek new trade partners to maintain its production.

This move will consequently affect the US economy, thus leading to a series of recessions. Carbon emissions will not disappear and carbon tariffs may be imposed, but their implementation may not happen as long as fossil fuels are available. Rubin puts the entire idea in an elaborative way. He argues that affecting carbon tariff on the Chinese industries makes them highly efficient, which encourages competition from other countries.

However, the future that Rubin examines does not depend on trade unions or partnerships, but the experience will result in an extremely individualistic situation. The economic expectations for global trade will dwindle. Countries like the US will produce their goods from steel and furniture to food production.

Travel will be mainly domestic, thus cutting demand for air travel. However, this move will be a reverse scenario of globalization expectations. From trade, sports, politics, to social life, people will adopt the immediate provisions by their states. Community-based training will become useful since most people will turn to agriculture in a bid to produce food and create employment.

Relating information from Rubin’s book to other courses

One factor that stands out in Rubin’s book is the view that it captures all aspects of human life whether social, economic, political, or environmental. He argues that oil is the revolving point of humankind activities. For instance, social life is all about interactions through travel, class identity, and worldwide events such as sporting.

In politics, policymaking is the key to who owns what, when, and how. Everybody seeks economic power to feel great. Good environmental conditions rely on effective burning of oils. In other words, all these aspects rely on oil. Therefore, borrowing knowledge to support ideas in other disciplines is relevant.

New aspects learned from Rubin’s book

By reviewing Rubin’s book, one realizes how much people’s lives are dependent or rather interconnected to oil. Not even economic analysts can deny that the big economies of the developed countries rely on cheap oil. The usual economic expectations are uncertain as the triple-digit increase in oil prices might occur anytime. Rubin’s predictions show a regular trend of actual ideas. Rubin helps readers to see a possible shift to a local way of living due to the rise in oil prices and thereafter embracing domestic trade.

Though the new ways may be difficult, they provide the best chances to survive in the triple-digit fuel costs. Rubin provides a realistic scenario by articulating events without the fear of criticism and telling the hard truth that the economic realm may be afraid of revealing.

Critics may argue or seek to know the possibility of producing enough oil to wipe Rubin’s speculation by exploring new wells, going deep down the seas to search oil, or inventing new forms of energy. Rubin does not concur to these ideas. He sees this approach as a way of burning more oil by exploring further.

Informative parts in the book

The book articulates the current economic problems coupled with examining what the future holds when the oil supply fails to meet the demand and prices go up. He mentions about jobs coming back to North America coupled with regaining the past by coming together in small villages and utilizing the suburbs through agriculture. He also suggests that even though the oil wells may not dry drastically, the amounts are decreasing increasingly, thus reaching a point where the situation cannot be reversed.

Lessons learned from the book.

Rubin gives the reader a new perspective on the global economy experiences. From this new perspective, people can change the status quo and develop other dimensions to global economic expectations. For instance, the fact that North America imports cheap goods for its markets from China is not a good practice.

Rubin explains that Chinese industries use cheap energy, which contributes to environmental depletion. However, the shortcut to cheap commodities will be highly detrimental in the near future when China is limited to domestic markets. This move will compel North American consumers to adapt to new life situations like producing for themselves.

He challenges the thinking of many on globalized new world order by insisting that individual states are pulling back to domestic markets. The oil-scarce future described by Rubin will force people to learn to do most duties on their own. They will seek assistance from the immediate neighbors encouraging communalism, rather than the ever-rising individualism.

Conclusion

Rubin keeps reminding his readers to brace themselves for possible changes in different aspects of their lives. Of particular concern is when he implies that consumers should wary of the high number of cheap consumer goods and services available. Instead, most economic experts view the affordability of consumer good as a sign of a stabilizing economy.

However, to Rubin, this view is a product of naivety to face the truth. Some sections of the book might have been disturbing and compelling; for instance, the idea of Pearson International Airport coming to a closure and his view on the uselessness of expanding the airport. He expounds the argument and sheds a lot of optimism by arguing that people will stop traveling abroad with the incentive of saving and benefiting local destinations.

His view on ending globalization might sound absurd, but with a keen examination on his book, even a non-economist finally establishes a glimpse of that perspective. After establishing the important economic facts from Rubin, most people will now seek to hear from him or other writers on a further speculative reading capturing deep implications of the contemporary socio-economic and political life. The book leaves readers with a broad view of the global economy.

Also, it supplies upcoming economists with a wide scope of economic facts. Both rising and established investors in the oil industry are now aware of what to expect coupled with the precautions to take since there is no alternative to burning oil. Rubin may not expect people to read or even believe his ideas, but it is clear that most scholars have already shown overwhelming support to his work. Some oil firms and governments will be compelled to adopt some of his recommendations sooner than expected.

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