Book Report on "Jeff Rubin's Why Your World"

Book Report 10 pages (3623 words) Sources: 0 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Jeff Rubin's Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization

Jeff Rubin's book, Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization, has a lot of broad implications for energy issues from a societal standpoint. It would be good for people who are fascinated by energy and who like energy issues or who invest in energy stocks. Anyone who is investing in any kind of stocks should be paying close attention to what he or she is doing and to what the market is doing, as well. However, sometimes a boost is needed, and that is where books like this one come in. While not perfect, there are many good points brought up in Rubin's book. One of the most fascinating issues that he discusses is the major premise of the book -- that the high costs of energy will eventually put an end to the marketplace on a global scale.

This is the opposite of some other learned opinions on the matter. The basic argument that Rubin offers for this is that the high prices of energy will become more significant than the lower labor costs that companies are getting by using workers in developing companies -- basically the opposite of Tom Friedman's 'world is flat' idea. If that takes place, re-industrialization will not only take place but be required. Things will start being made in the United States again instead of being created in other countries and shipped over. The America of the 1950s will return, to some degree, with the work ethics and values that were seen during that time, at least from a job and product creation standpoint.

There are many economists that talk about globalization and say that they find it to be irreversible, but Rubin does not agree with that. Globalization, in his view, has come about because energy is so cheap that it is allowing companies to ship almost anything at very low costs. If it starts to cost too much to ship things, those things will be made closer to where they will be purchased, instead of halfway across the country or the world. Rubin is not the first person to come up with this theme and to address the pros and cons of cheap energy. Both Stephen Leeb and Chris Steiner have done this, as have some other authors. However, Rubin's book covers not only economics, but sociology as well.

If a person wants to know how he should make money from the energy shortages that are bound to occur, Leeb can help with that. Steiner can leave a person hopeful about an America that is simpler and more focused on community. Neither one of them can do what Rubin does, though, in incorporating the financial and the community aspects of the issue into one concise book. It is a very helpful guide to the problem of what will happen to the resources of the planet and America in the next 20 years and beyond. The idea of being able to extend and adjust resources now is something that the current Administration has talked about, and Rubin's book reinforces the necessity of making changes and doing something differently.

Right at the beginning of page one, Rubin declares that the problems that were seen in 2008 from the standpoint of a global financial meltdown did not all come about because people had bad mortgages. That was certainly part of the equation, but the rising and ridiculously high cost of oil was a large part of that, as well. Many people seemed to have suspected that this was true for some time, but they did not want to speak out for fear of persecution. Rubin is not afraid to tell the truth and to say what is really taking place. I am in agreement with most of what he has to say, because there is more to a financial crisis than one component (mortgages).

There have to be failures in several sectors of the economy to have serious problems on a global scale, and the cost of energy easily becomes one of the sectors where problems appear and become larger than life if they are allowed to continue. Rubin, unafraid, talks about the turning point that society has reached. He believes that 2008 was the peak of the age of low-cost energy, and America (as well as the rest of the world) has passed over that peak now. Things will become more difficult because oil is going to become increasingly harder to find and remove from the ground.

That means it will cost much more, and it is very possible that there will never be much more oil produced than there was in 2008. The demand will continue to rise, and if the supply does not rise with it, the cost will go up sharply. Rubin also gives a warning in his book, in that there will be two choices for the world over the next handful of years. It either must transition society over to a group that is less energy-intensive and more community-oriented, or continue to see recession following recession each time the demand for something is greater than the supply. Eventually, this resource will be completely gone, depleted while people bang their heads against the wall and wail and complain and wonder what to do next. Unfortunately, they may not see until it is too late that they could have stopped it.

Rubin has had a history of good predictions. He stated when oil would hit one hundred dollars a barrel, and just weeks after this book was published oil started to recover, doubling in price. His prediction is for oil that reaches two hundred dollars per barrel and gasoline that reaches seven dollars per gallon -- that is, if things do not change and the world keeps going along the way it has been. These kinds of problems can be corrected, but only if the world realizes and recognizes them, and only if steps are then taken to change them. If these things are not addressed and dealt with, oil will be in short supply and high demand, which will drive the price to levels that many people simply cannot afford.

One reason that the book has such value is that it shows an economist being willing to acknowledge what a lot of economists refuse to: that resources and economic growth are both actually limited commodities instead of things that are in unlimited supplies and that no one ever has to worry about. Another reason that the book has value is that Rubin shows the reader that there is legitimate hope. There are ways to make the world 'smaller' from an energy-intensive standpoint, and that could (and should) lead to a world that is happier and that functions better overall. This is not a pipe dream. It is something that can actually be done. It is achievable, but the desire to create a better, more energy-efficient and community-centered world must be present first. Undoubtedly, Rubin will have more to say about the issue in the years to come.

This book is definitely recommended reading for anyone who wants to learn more about the economy, oil, and how the world actually works. The 'average Joe' can learn a lot from Rubin's information. It is not necessary to be a politician, a geologist, an economist, or the employee of an oil company in order to see how much value Rubin's work has. The supply of oil and the price of it has the potential to affect the lives of almost everyone. Whether a person is rich or poor, black or white, or any other combination, oil and energy are part of life. It is not just about gasoline to put in the family car. It is also about things like heating oil for the home, natural gas, and the shipping of all types of goods and services throughout the country and around the world.

It is true that some of the information Rubin presents is not new. There are only so many ways to explain to someone that the world is running out of energy resources and that something needs to be done before all of them go away. However, the detail that Rubin goes into regarding supply and demand, and the care with which he shows what can -- and may -- happen, is very significant. Although it is detailed, it is also written in terms that anyone can understand. It does not have to be 'dumbed down' to be easily understandable by the majority of people. It only has to be explained clearly and distinctly -- and Rubin has done this. It is a large part of what makes his work so valuable in the field of energy and information today.

Of course, there is no guarantee that Rubin is right and that the problems he discusses in his book will come… READ MORE

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