A Century Ago, Petroleum - What We

Is There Any Purpose To Translating Poetry? A Poem Does Not Contain Information Of Importance, Like A Signpost Or A Warning Notice.

One Of The Admirable Features Of British Novelists Is That They Have No Scruple About Setting Their Stories In Foreign Settings With Wholly Foreign Personnel.

The Truth Is, Of Course, That History Is Not Completed In Modern Commerce Any More Than Philosophy Is Perfected In Political Economy. In Other Words, There Is Nothing Timeless Or God-given About Filling Stations And Penicillin And Plastic Bags.

There Are Signs That The Age Of Petroleum Has Passed Its Zenith. Adjusted For Inflation, A Barrel Of Crude Oil Now Sells For Three Times Its Long-run Average. The Large Western Oil Companies, Which Cartellised The Industry For Much Of The 20th Century, Are Now Selling More Oil Than They Find, And Are Thus In The Throes Of Liquidation.

Life Without Oil, In Fact, Would Be So Different That It Is Frightening To Contemplate. We Are Addicted, And It Is No Comfortable Addiction.