Imagine a world without oil…

Written on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 8:33 am | by benign0

I may not be the brightest bulb in the room, but I’m not really sure if the irony behind Abe’s article “Imagine a world without Filipinos” escaped anyone else here.

At least 10,000 Filipinos have been lost in shipping disasters over the last 20 years and the owners and key executives of certain shipping lines are STILL hanging out on the sunny side of prison bars. Who misses those long gone 10,000 sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers?

One wonders why it takes an essayist from some desert kingdom on the other side of the world to take poetic license and write a blurb on the value of cheap Pinoy labour. And with this quaint punchline to boot:

We have to remember that we are very much dependent on the Filipinos around us. We could die a slow death if they chose to leave us.

Like, come on now folks. Seinfeld would have a field day with this. What’s up with that???

Like Arab oil, Brazilian rubber, and sub-Saharan diamonds, the only real thing that gives value to cheap Pinoy labour are the vast capital base, industrial might, and immense purchasing power of the advanced world that CREATE EMPLOYMENT for the rest of the labour-added-value world (of which our society happens to be a sizeable subset of — to the tune of 90 million).

That the Saudis would decide to pump more oil to stabilise or temper world prices indicates an apparent fear of advanced nations developing new forms/sources of fuel in response to higher energy costs.

Kung baga, if oil supply becomes an issue, the Advanced World will mobilise its vast technological might to overcome that setback. Indeed, the amount of output for every kJ of energy consumed by the U.S. has doubled over the last 20 years. Couple that efficiency gain (sorry, there’s no Tagalog word for THAT concept) with the ability to explore alternatives. The ability to explore and exploit the North Sea and arctic regions for new oil deposits can only be pulled off by the Vulcan technology that only the advanced world possesses.

The bottom line is that we should not be too cocky about our presumed place in the economic scheme of things. If cheap Filipino labour suddenly disappears from the face of the earth, advanced nations will, in the same way, manage to find SOLUTIONS to overcome such a setback and certainly will be able to explore alternative sources. They may struggle FOR A WHILE but, hey, I can have faith in civilisations that’ve survived the Dark Ages, the Inquisition, rebuilt from innumerable wars, pulled themselves together after being nuked, re-invented themselves after being flooded by Asian automobiles and electronics, and keep their noses up DESPITE their politicians.

On the other hand, one wonders whether a society who had more than enough forests, minerals, rainfall, natural beauty, and exceptional command of the planet’s primary language of knowledge and learning YET REMAINS DREADFULLY IMPOVERISHED can prevail.

The guiding principle here is how THINKING usually overcomes physical challenges. Therefore I ask (a-la Carrie Bradshaw):

Is Pinoy society a THINKING society?

It’s kind of like how we are suddenly faced with a shortage of our precious staple. Do Pinoys simply lay down and “die a slow death” because of this setback as the Saudi dude said they would if their equivalent of such a “precious” commodity goes kaput?

Abangan ang susunod na kabanata mga kabayan… (But I wouldn’t hold my breath. The 2010 elections are coming up. :D ).

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About The Author: benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.COM and has once been described as "one of the most enthusiastic hecklers of the politically-passionate" by a respected journalist.

Filed Under Business and Economy, Science & Technology, Society

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Comments

5 Responses to “Imagine a world without oil…”

  1. Mikey_Liling on July 3rd, 2008 9:31 am

    Why are we poor? It’s due to a bad combination of religion and the weather.

    The Filipino fates were sealed the moment Ferdinand Magellan set foot in our tropical shores.

    Christianity teaches us to be content in what we have, and as long as we are good, we will join God in His Kingdom.

    Not having a winter season deprived us of Mother Nature’s way of getting rid of the lazy and the sloths.

    500 years later, and here we are, an apathetic society who believes in a heavenly afterlife.

  2. benign0 on July 3rd, 2008 8:00 pm

    Hmmm, 500 years of abject mediocrity.

    Can we consider that an achievement? :D

  3. benign0 on July 5th, 2008 3:48 pm

    Randy David himself wrote about this whole “A world without Pinoys” delusion. Check it out here.

  4. siegfred on August 6th, 2008 1:42 pm

    DOWN THE PRICE OF OIL & RICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  5. siegfred on August 6th, 2008 1:47 pm

    DECREASE THE PRICE

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