Oil Growth And Democracy In The Global North

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Oil Growth and Democracy in America and the United Kingdom

Introduction

Many concepts of democracy do not cover the relationship between democracy and oil.

Oil played a major role in shaping the democracy of many countries during the twentieth

century, including America and the UK. Timothy Michelle’s thesis explains the development of

oil from the identification, to the production, the refining, up to the conversion into various

petroleum products (Mitchell, 6). The countries which largely depend on oil for revenue

generation are less democratic than the countries without oil, generally termed as the oil curse.

Politics are majorly controlled by the largest revenue generator in a state, and for some countries

the revenue generator is oil. Subsequently, the economy determines the state of the democracy.

This article evaluates the logic Timothy’s thesis and weather the thesis is convincing(Mitchell, 9-

11).

Carbon democracy, as referred to by Timothy, is the kind of democracy that is

determined by politics influence by oil economy. Assuming the properties of oil is a reflection of

an underlying inception of democracy. The failure to follow the genesis and development of oil

results to the oil curse in most countries. The curse is caused by the failure to follow oil’s

development and lack of attention of diagnosis of the curse(Mitchell, 12). The solution is

eliminating the symptoms that producer states have. Most successful nations have oil as a major

product, which has played a key role in shaping the economy and the politics of these nations.

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Logic behind Timothy’s Thesis

Oil takes a whole process of transformation to become the viable source of energy it is

converted to. The transformation the oil takes requires connection which do not take into account

the democratic factors that exist; power, politics, economic divide, human or natural resources.

Such connections makes it possible for the oil to the fossil fuel to be converted into other forms.

The relationship between oil and democracy is that both requires connections to be built, the

opportunities created, and he rare cases where control takes effect. Mass democracy and fossil

fuels have both been discovered in the recent years, and are connected in four ways.

The first way is that in the late 19

century, mass politics emerged as a result of the

impact of fossil fuel development, in conjunction with other valuable resources. Energy for many

years was derived from the sun and converted into food in plants through photosynthesis. Solar

energy is renewable but is very weak. The identification of the fossil fuel came across in the mid-

twentieth century, which replaced the use of solar energy. The oil, however, is predicted to be

depleted in approximately one hundred years. A little fuel was required to run about machines

and other activities that required fuel, and when compared to the stored carbon in plant, very

little was needed. There was need to develop cities and urban places, but for hat to happen, there

needed to be an agrarian revolution; Europe invaded other territories to have space to grow

plants which would boost its economy (Aslaksen, 421-431).

Secondly, fossil fuel had a much higher concentration of carbon than timber. Although

coal was located in few locations, most countries were able to develop the channels through

which the coal would run and be available in various cities for processing. The channels, were

run by steam heating, which later came to be replaced the energy derived from coal. Fossil fuel

created a great deal of employment, but the coal miners seemed to be enjoying the privacy and

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autonomy of being isolated. This is because, coal mining happens underground and the managers

could not get under the rocks to supervise the miners. Thus, very little was known regarding the

details of mining process, where the miners exploited this opportunity to their favor. The mining

workforce was very diverse, but it developed a militancy to protect the workers from harsh

working conditions, longer working hours, or a less pay. The movements would organize strikes

to threaten the leaders not to interfere with their autonomy. Such is a symbol of democracy as

their wishes would be protected. The owners of the large fuel-based companies had to exercise

democracy since they needed the role of the miners in the production sector.

The emergence of mass democracy

Timothy Mitchell uses the carbon democracy to explain the rise of a democratic world.

The rise of coal was a new rise to a source of energy that was to bring disruptions in countries

that produced it, especially the Middle East. For the first time, the west became vulnerable to the

public demand of mass democracy. During the mid-twentieth century, the production of cheap

oil productions especially from the Middle East created a channel to evade submission to the

mass democracy. Oil revenue gives the government the opportunity to relieve itself off the

pressure of the public. Oil made it possible for the politicians to manage the economy. Residents

in oil-based states developed a livelihood that was highly dependent on the fossil fuel, but the

government was not able to evaluate how the oil would end.

In the twenty first century, the oil-based modern democratic politics are unsustainable.

There are a lot of interventions underway, trying to explain the end of the carbon democracy, that

is, the depletion of cheap fossil fuel. In explaining the role of carbon fuel in democracy, carbon

democracy goes back to the origin of fossil fuel, politics, and the theory of democracy. Mitchell

also explains the position of the Middle East as one of the world’s largest oil producer. For many

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years, the oil-producing companies have had the notion that oil is a continuous supplier of

wealth, and thus their economies are meant to be stable as long as oil is produced. However, the

oil was predicted to end one hundred years after the onset of its mining. Thus by 2050, there

could be n more carbon fuel available, and thus the fall of the carbon democracy (Bridge, 565-

576).

Mass democracy in America

Mass democracy is the situation where the people have control over the leaders who are

voted for. The rise of mass democracy in the US started in the 19

century during the Jackson

era who he took over the presidency and was in the seat for the next twelve terms. That was more

than all the years of the previous presidents combined. Mass democracy is where the public has a

direct participation in matters to do with electoral positions and policy making. Unlike what we

have today, where most states have the legislature that entails the process of making law and

policies, the mass democracy had the public taking part in the processes (Ramey, 333-368).

Mass democracy is risky in the sense that the public to not know the complexity involved

in that matters they are to decide on. The media sways the opinion of the people, and they end up

making the wrong choices. The rise of industrial movements during the oil regime led to the rise

in mass democracy; the people had the autonomous power to make laws. However, critiques say

people cannot rule themselves as they will always be in inadequacy on what is required for the

process thus being swayed by various forces(Ramey, 333-368).

After the end of World War Two, the miners were again at the front line threatening the

democratic politics. The US planners, on the other hand came up with a technique to beat the

miners in the protest game. The plan was to change the energy system from being coal

dependent, to being oil-dependent (Hughes, 225-234). With the new change, workers were able

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to acquire new forms of power. However, a new challenge developed. Oil required less technical

workforce in the way it is produced. The miners remain on the surface of the mining area under a

strict supervision of the managers. The oil is pumped up by the water below or the air above it so

the workers do not need to get to the underground. Oil is a liquid form; the railway carriage were

therefore replaced with pipelines which transported the oil to the location of use, or exported it

abroad.

The US government pressured the Lebanon government to put pressure on the oil

companies to exempt from the local labor laws. This was followed by a series of strikes by the

workers protesting for their rights. The demands of US were not met which led her to use

temporary employees when the pipelines took effect. There were similar civil strikes happening

across the Middle East in Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. The CIA were mostly used to impose a

rule that was convenient to the ruling party. The construction of the energy networks created a

post-war crisis, with the colonizers wanting to have control, but the workers took it to the streets

with strikes demanding for their rights. The new form of oil generation was a channel to creating

a new form of democracy. He oil centers were later to create a very center of political struggles,

but were able to build democratic orders.

The transportation of oil by sea using pipelines, eliminated a large workforce at the

railway section, and who played an important role in mobilizing the workers movements. The

inception of oil created flexibility in that there was no more need to gauge and load the rail tanks,

rather, tanks would leave the pot and head out without a specific destination, and that was later

determined by the amount of oil demanded per region. The flexibility, however, came with

challenges; the result of the first most traumatizing oil spill, the Torrey Canyon disaster. The

spill led to the emergence of the environmental movement, which later became a threat to the

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energy industry. The environmentalists claimed that the carbon fuel was a source of air pollution,

and at present, the ozone layer is depleted and a lot of global warming is happening due to the

accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere. The movement also made the energy sector to make

changes in the way oil was extracted, transported and utilized making the sector vulnerable to the

political demands of the laborers (Hughes, 225-234).

The oil sector faced completion at the oceanic level. The world wars shaped the way in

which oil was transported. US was the major producer in the world, and other small producing

companies needed to get into the limelight. There was the establishment of price controls in

America as a mechanism to compete for the same global market. The other mechanism came

after World War Two, where the Middle Eastern countries merged to make the abundant oil to

be of a limited supply. The first mechanism that was to be used was the national security;

America was given the chance to reduce its supply of oil in the Middle East. The other

mechanism was the creation of lifestyles that demanded large consumption of oil. The American

vehicle companies replaced the six-cylinder engine with the V8s engine. The Americans were

therefore in a large consumption set up. When that was combined with the new political

organization in the Middle East, then the oil companies were able to maintain the scarcity of oil.

Oil culture is the various representations that oil has taken since the discovery of oil in

the US. The analysis explores the methods used in the shaping the role of oil in the modern

world. Oil is viewed as the basic commodity that shapes the economy of a state where it is

produced. Oil has a great influence in the social lives of most American. Oil is used in fueling

cars, a basic component in most American families today. The political health of The Sates is

also greatly affected by the role of oil in the country. America being the largest consumer in the

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world, has sought channels of importation of oil especially from the Middle East (Barrett, Ross,

& Daniel; 269-272).

The construction of a pipeline from Saudi Arabia to the Mediterranean posted a political

threat to America. The Trans-Arabian Pipeline Company opted not to cross the pipeline through

Britain at Haifa to avoid political confrontation. The pipelines was rerouted through Syria. When

Syria refused to agree to the terms of the oil company, the oil companies organized that the CIA

to remove the president in power and replace with a more flexible one. Such events as this one

engineered the relationship between oil and democracy.

Mass democracy in Britain

Mass democracy is being exercised in the UKsince the early nineteenth century to date. It

is as a result of mass democracy that Brexit came to happen. The media swayed the British

citizens into baseless phobia of some components of the Brexit, making the parliament to sign

one of the most painful policies in history, of the UK getting out of the EU. Before Brexit

however things were different. The fossil fuel sector had experienced financing from the local

and international financial institution. On average, the UK receives eighty two million dollars,

mostly from Scotland. By 2013, UK has been funded 3.3 billion dollars by the Royal Bank of

Scotland which is owned by the government. Most of the funding targets the exploration

segment. With about a quarter of the money going to the development sector. This has greatly

reduced the production cost of oil and thus resulting in low retailing prices(Merriman & Peter,

586-599).

In the North Sea, shale has shown great interest in the exploration and production

especially in the deep waters offshore drilling companies. Major companies have joined the UK

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economy for example the Cuadrilla Resources which joined the shale oil industry. The growth of

the oil sector in Britain is as a result of mass democracy.

With the development in the energy sector, the movements had developed from the

miners to other sectors; wells, pipelines, refining companies, and shipping lanes in the Middle

East. Iraq, which is a protectorate of the UK, organized a series of workers and students strikes

demanding for freedom from the reoccupation of the UK, and for quality lifestyle for the

citizens. The railways were the most crucial sectors of the entire system. All the repair and

maintenance were done at the railways. The storage of the oil barrels were kept at the petrol

station. Majority of the workers were at the petrol stations and if a petition would arise, then the

workers posed a great deal of a threat to the rulers.

The world is reliant on oil, and unless other alternatives are sought, then the world will be

at a trance one day after the fuel has depleted. As time goes by, the supply of oil will decrease

and the prices will rise as a result of shortage of supply. Other alternatives need to be sought by

that time, like in the case of the UK (Merriman & Peter, 586-599). Electricity is another form of

renewable energy which is generated using water, geothermal, wind, or solar. However,

electricity is quite expensive to produce hence quite expensive to purchase, but it is a good and

reliable alternative. Wind and solar energy are not reliable as they produce very little energy, and

are also not available in some locations (Chapman, 93-101).A major factor that may have led the

UK to take action regarding the use of petroleum products in the peak oil narrative.

The peak oil is that point when the production of oil will reach maximum, and then start

declining. King Hubert, who developed this narrative, claims that the oil production follows a

bell curve. The production increases gradually, then after reaching the maximum point, it will

then decline gradually. The narrative was developed based on the fact that oil is a non-renewable

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resource which takes millions of years to form. At some point, the oil will be depleted and the

human race will have to have alternate oil sources. King predicted that the peak for US would

happen during the mid-twentieth century, and it did happen. In 1960, America reached an

average of 9.6 million barrels per day, which was her maximum score; since then, the production

has been declining gradually with time.

Peal oil is different from oil depletion. Peak oil is that day when the production reaches

maximum, after which there is gradual decline (Chapman, 93-101). Oil depletion on the other

hand, is the exhaustion of oil in that there is no more to mine. Oil is a very reliable source of

energy across the world; industries, transportation and homes, but it has its own implications.

Drilling fossil fuel is very risky. Most drilling occurs offshore, which is far from the human

settlement and urban developments. In the case of fire or an explosion, the miners can be at risk

since there is no nearby help. They can suffer from death, burns or inhalation of the gases. Such

events would affect even the surrounding aquatic animals and plants.

The demand for oil in the UK will continue to rise with the rise in human population. The

supply for oil, on the other hand will continue to fall. Ever since the oil peak was predicted,

people have been guessing on when it will actually happen so that they can store oil for their

future use after depletion. With the increase in demand, there will be a rise in the price of oil, and

subsequently the economy will be affected (Jarvis & Andrew, 722-729).

Most countries have a very economy stiff economy to manage. Most of the cases the

government is not able to subsidize fuel for all the residents, and neither are the residents able to

support their own fuel at high prices. After the oil peak, the countries dependent on oil such as

the UK will suffer the most since they will not be in a position to raise enough fuel to sustain the

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countries(Jarvis & Andrew, 722-729). That way, there will be shortage of debt, and a fall in the

economic level.

The years following the peak oil will see all the industries in the oil sectors; production,

transportation and refinery will have to come to a closure. The implication is that people will

lose their jobs, and big investment will have to be closed down. Equipment such as drilling

machines, transportation vehicles and refineries will have to be put aside and may not be used

again. However, some of these materials can be recycled for other uses. The oil market is very

big, especially for the largest oil producers such as the OPEC nations. When he oil finally gets

down, many countries will have lost a major source of revenue, or even worse, become poor.

The depletion of oil will not mean the end of the world, life would still move on. There

are other fuel sources such as biogas, solar, wind, and electricity which are still being weighed. A

country like the UK has its strategy in place already, as it plan to ban all oil-engine cars and

replace that with electricity. Petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned in UK by 2040, which

means car manufacturers will not sell cars with combustions engines after the deadline. UK has

over 45 million driving license holders, but not all can afford the electric. However, Tesla

Company has sold a few affordable cars in the past few years. The car production sector has

enough time to shift its manufacturing into electric engines. The government has also put in

place mechanisms to ensure that the cars are affordable. There will be no permanent burn on

petrol and diesel by 2040, because only car selling companies will not sell any more but any car

owner will have the right to utilize their cars as long as they want (Huber, 295-312).

The oil peak is not a myth. People have the notion that fracking of shale deposits is the

new dawn for the energy sector. The energy sectors has been undergoing investigations making

it receive a wider prospect. The US recently increased its oil production for the first time since

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1970, but this is the salient point. The shale oil is commercially available because the declining

oils will result to rise in prices. In order to sustain the current demand, statistics show that three

million barrels more have to be produced every year. That is the same as multiplying the supply

of Saudi Arabia by three. The principle component of shale rock is gases such as methane and

propane, whereas oil was made up of most carbon.

Shale has produced an incredible amount of gas in the US but that is not a guarantee in

the other countries such as UK since the geography differs (Dunn et al., 1411-1428). The Poland

shale estimate has been revised to 14% of the original estimate. Shale is not a simple

replacement of petroleum as it contains gas. Having to convert auto mobiles to run as gas

engines is another economic burden all together (Zimmerer&Karl, 115-129). Renewable

resources are not very reliable, and cannot replace the position of oil across the world. The UK

converting all the automobiles into electric-powered cars is very costly to the state and the

citizens, since electric engines are quite expensive (Merriman & Peter, 586-599). It can be very

uncertain, but it is clear that there will be no more cheap oils, and the phase the human race is

about to enter is a whole new energy experience.

Problems of relying on Oil as a the main source of fuel

Fossil fuel is formed from dead organic matter which are made up of carbon as a main

constituent. When the oil burns, the carbon reacts with oxygen to form carbon dioxide gas which

is released to the atmosphere. Since oil has been the most used source of energy for the last 150

years, the carbon being released is a lot. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which means it

causes global warming. Global warming is the trapping of the reflected infrared rays by

atmospheric particles causing a rise in the global temperature. The change in temperature has led

to climatic change and most significantly, the depletion of the ozone layers.

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Oil is a liquid and thus prone to spillage. The pipelines that transport oil are very long and

are sometimes not monitored. Oil spillage occurs in various ways; through the water ways, tanks

falling, or in the drilling process. When the oil spills, it gets to the soil, and affects the small

organisms in the soil. After sometimes, the chemical components in the soil gets absorbed into

plants by the roots, and subsequently to the human body through food. If the spillage occurs in

water bodies, the aquatic plants will be affected.

Conclusion

Oil have played a major role in shaping the world’s democracy and economy. The

inception of oil in the mid-9

century bore a whole new era of mass democracy in the Northern

globe. There has been a lot of development in the social, economic and political settings of

states. Oil producers are less democratic nations as the oil plays a major role in the resource

allocation, distribution of income, and in setting international relations (Love, et al., 6-16). The

major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, America, and Nigeria are working hard to ensure they

maintain the autonomy of their position. Fossil fuel is a non-renewable resource and when the

peak oil happens, there will be a great revolutions across the world. The producers will have an

economic decline, while the consumers seek alternate source of energy. The implication will also

result in a cleaner and healthier environment as carbon is the largest air pollutant.

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Works cited

Aslaksen, Silje. "Oil and democracy: More than a cross-country correlation?." Journal of Peace

Research 47.4 (2010): 421-431.

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Studies 46.2 (2012): 269-272.

Becker, Uwe, and Alexandra Vasileva. "America's oil economy re-conceptualized: A changing

hybrid of liberalism, statism and patrimonialism." Journal of Eurasian studies 8.1 (2017):

83-96.

Bridge, Gavin, and Andrew Wood. "Less is more: Spectres of scarcity and the politics of

resource access in the upstream oil sector." Geoforum 41.4 (2010): 565-576.

Chapman, Ian. "The end of Peak Oil? Why this topic is still relevant despite recent

denials." Energy Policy 64 (2014): 93-101.

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entrepreneurial life." Journal of American Studies 46.2 (2012): 295-312.

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peak?”Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 3.4 (2011): 225-234.

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as a historical period." Economic Anthropology 3.1 (2016): 6-16.

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Merriman, Peter. "Auto mobility and the geographies of the car." Geography Compass 3.2

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Mitchell, Timothy. "Carbon democracy." Economy and Society38.3 (2009): 399-432.

Ramey, Valerie A., and Daniel J. Vine. "Oil, automobiles, and the UK economy: How much

have things really changed?." NBER Macroeconomics Annual 25.1 (2011): 333-368.

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