WI No oil crisis.

[NapoleonXIV]

WI the Arabs never got mad in 1973 and kept pumping oil at the same prices. How would the US be different if gas had never went higher than 37 cents per gallon?

 

[Hendryk]

How would the US be different if gas had never went higher than 37 cents per gallon?

Sooner or later, it would have, though the price rise may have been more gradual. Between 1973 and the early 21st century, the world became a different place, with China, India and a number of smaller countries consuming increasing amounts of oil. This, even in the absence of major trouble in the Middle East (a huge if), would have caused prices to rise.

 

[the_lyniezian]

Would we still have 3-day weeks in the UK? (There was a miners' strike going on at the same time, but I guess tere might have been some oil-fired power stations- but then, were they fed from the North Sea?)

 

[mtg999]

An interesting thread.

Lots of the problems with the Keynesian economic system were already starting to be show by the time of the oil crisis. ie in the UK and Aust inflation was not much below 10% and unemployment was pushing the 2-3% limit considered acceptable at the time.

Eventually these problems will have to be dealt with, but probably not until well into the 80's or early 90's.

How would this affect the 'Thatcher revoultion' in the UK and the rise of neo-liberalism more widely?

 

[arctic warrior]

Quite interesting.
Oil production in the Danish part of the North Sea started in 1972. With no oil crisis cheap petrol would be awailable so no need for working with alternative energy production - wind, sun, wave the ecological stuff.

Less inflation? With cheap energy any production would be less costly thus lower prices on industry products. But I'm no economist.
The inflation as already mentioned began before the oil crisis. Hmmm.

The UN sessions might look different and the Yom Kippur war perhaps last longer, if not the Soviets still go tough as they did.
But the Western perception of the world would be quite different - more support for Israel? Less leftwing lobbying for the palestinians/arabs?
This was also the time when the issue of refugees became more of an issue so this might perhaps also change due to the Western perception of the world - why don't they stay at home fighting for change as we did in WWII?