Presented with only the minimalist observation that access to energy resources has long been a crucial component of American foreign policy, that the significance of this component is increasing under the combined pressures of globalization and development, stagnating or declining production, and the emergence of 'sovereign wealth' policies in certain major energy exporting nations, portending an epoch of decreased stability and more frequent military deployments, consider the following essay entitled, Preparing for a Life After Oil.
Some readers might discern a slight reductionist tendency in the analysis, but this ought not be permitted to occlude the reality that energy policy is a linchpin of the foreign policy consensus that unites Democrats and Republicans, whatever the fulminations of public rhetoric might seem to indicate. The comments section also 'has it all', running the gamut from cranky lefties to intemperate exchanges over abiotic oil theory.
(HT: Patrick Deneen.)