Keeping oil prices in perspective, via NYT. The current price is not remotely remarkable

As of my writing, it’s at 88/barrel.


To put that in perspective, via NYT:

quote:

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“Most Americans probably don’t look back at March 2012. In the month when “The Hunger Games” ruled the box office and President Barack Obama was on his way to a comfortable re-election, the price of Brent crude closed the month around $123 a barrel. That would be about $175 a barrel in today’s dollars.

As of Tuesday, despite Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks on its neighbors’ energy facilities, it’s hovering around $100, slightly higher than the average inflation-adjusted price since January 2001, roughly $95.”

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This isn’t arguing that it’s a good thing that prices have gone up. But it does suggest that it’s silly to be using phrases such as “energy crisis” or “record prices”

What the data actually shows is that between 2001 and 2026, half of those years had average real prices higher than the current price.

This episode makes me skeptical that America could actually win a third world war. Unlike the greatest generations, modern Americans are simply not willing to sacrifice any dollars for foreign policy. There would be immense political pressure to surrender to the Chinese or agree to favorable peace terms for China.


Chinese citizens, on the other hand, would have a higher tolerance for economic sacrifice