> Doug Henwood wrote:
> > Speaking of neoclassicals, didn't Jevons worry about Britain running
> > out of coal?
> >
And Jevons was right.
Today the British coal industry has all-but disappeared
and can never again, under any circumstances, be the energetics-base for
large-scale capitalist production. The coal did indeed run out,
entropically-speaking. N Sea oil is now running out too (peaked several
years ago). Capitalism is like a man running deeper into quicksand but not
sinking all at once because he finds occasional tussocks to cling onto.
These temporary reprieves only make his ultimate fate more certain. In
Jevons' time British coal was a primary energy source not just for Britain
but for WORLD capitalism. The ominous significance of the collapse
of coal escapes us because 100 years seems like a long time. It
is a long time for a person but not for history.
Mark Jones
http://www.egroups.com/group/CrashList
>
