Editorial: Making the government responsible -- Nationalize energy
Once Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast, the price of gasoline shot up to $5.37 a gallon in that area. Bankers investing in oil warned of shortages. Oil companies rationed some gas deliveries. Stations raised prices. President Bush released gas from the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserves, but it was purposely not enough to stop the price gouging. Profits soared.
Once again the capitalists used a human catastrophe to increase profits. They say prices rose because of shortages and the "law of supply and demand." But, supply and demand as a way to determine price can only work in a "free" market. It cannot work where there are monopolies. Monopolies control price (based on the highest end of what people can pay). Also, we are told that gas prices were rising before the catastrophe because of possible shortages in the future. If so, why not raise prices then? If there's a gas shortage today, why aren't there lines at the pump? And now we are told that natural gas, used to heat millions of homes, may double in price this winter.
What is the cause of this problem? It appears that those at fault are mean, pro-corporation presidents and congressmen, and they are. Yet they are the result rather than the cause. The cause is capitalism, a system based on the drive for maximum profit. The cause is an energy industry that is run for profit. The cause is speculators who buy into the crude, gasoline, and heating oil markets, chasing big returns. All the talk about shortages drives up prices. Exxon Mobil, for example, gained almost $8 billion in one quarter. The real question is whether it is right that a few wealthy individuals can own society's natural resources, destroy the environment, manipulate price, and make it more and more difficult for people to afford the basic necessities like water, gas and heat?
What can we do?
If the corporations can't and won't distribute energy to the people in an orderly way, the government should take the companies over and run them in the public's interest. This is nationalization. The struggle for nationalization points the thinking and activity of the people toward the fight for a new society that benefits all. This is all the more important today because the government not only "serves" the corporations. Today, government is merging with the corporations. Today, a government that provides services to the people is becoming a relic of the past in the face of privatization. The individual must fend for themselves.
The first battle of the revolution is to make the government our government. Nationalize the Energy. But a great battle of ideas must be waged for people to accept this. Our enemies say nationalization is bad. But, the Postal Service was nationalized (became the responsibility of the nation and administered by the government). Each week, billions of pieces of mail are delivered to our door. Everyone has a right to this public service which is run in the interests of society, not for profit. In a like manner, the energy industry, as well as all human resources and services such as health care, education, food, etc., must become nationalized and run according to people's needs rather than by market principles.
As we fight for the government to nationalize the energy, we can show that the next step for humanity is a society that distributes the plentiful resources on the earth to all based on need, not money. The vision of a just nation, one without hunger, poverty and homelessness can be a reality.
