‘Waste Not Want Not’ – Why Energy Should Be Re-Nationalized

Andrew McKillop
21st Century Wire

 With regards to the economics of energy debate, Europe, and the world, finds itself at a major crossroads now.


 This is a complex issue, not least of all because of the politically-loaded connotations associated with the term ‘nationalization’.

From a socioeconomic standpoint, the status quo of continual rising heating and electric bills – is not sustainable at all. Arguably, there are more people in ‘fuel poverty’ now, than at any other time in modern history. Those numbers are growing by the day and politicians and energy CEOs know it. Boycotts, protests and riots are right around the corner. It’s a ticking time bomb – and they must face it, even if financiers and major shareholders are still looking the other way.

Beyond the fuel poverty issue, there are other problems emerging… 

‘Oligarchic’ Nationalization 

Professor Colin Robinson, in a Dec 2013 study published by the UK Institute of Economic Affairs, says the energy sector in the UK has been effectively renationalized. He sees the return of centralized energy planning as the root cause of skyrocketing fuel and energy prices, fuel poverty, and accelerating de-industrialisation of the UK economy as industrialists flee the high cost of energy. He, however, does not signal the before-and-after differences of old style energy nationalization, what we can call the ‘postwar social democrat’, waste-not-want-not austerity model, and today’s 19th century-style crony corporate and crony government energy sector takeover.

To be sure, the crony monopoly-board model is profit-only, always corrupt and thrives on waste. It was well analyzed by Thorsten Veblen is his 1899 book, “The Theory of the Leisure Class”, describing the emergence of early industrial capitalism’s super rich class he called “the lords of the manor” who employed themselves in the economically useless practice of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure – treating their permanent gambling party using financial betting chips as a prime leisure activity, for which the Money Lords created banks, brokers and trading houses.

Veblen specially identified the role of new or emerging technology and science, as a means for the Leisure Class to create and play new and more gambling chips.

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