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<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><SPAN class=634455222-21022006>I
discovered this marvellous site on the complete and dangerous silliness of
(most, especially neoclassical) <EM>Economics</EM>: </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><SPAN class=634455222-21022006>The
Anti Economist League (AEL)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><A
href="http://www.tasman.net/ael/index.htm">http://www.tasman.net/ael/index.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4> </FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><SPAN class=634455222-21022006>Here's
a sample:</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><SPAN
class=634455222-21022006><STRONG>GOLD</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P>Gold was once the foundation of the monetary system. Countries backed their
currency with stores of gold. It is now just another commodity that people buy
and sell in the hope of making a profit. There is some industrial use of gold,
but most of it is stored in vaults.</P>
<P>It is the most bizarre thing to do. Most of the easy gold has been found so
now miners seek out ore with something over 5 parts per million to extract gold
from. This is now done with large scale technology; great drag-lines and
vehicles which gather the ore and transport it to a crushing plant after which a
chemical treatment extracts the gold. It is not at all labour intensive but is
capital and energy intensive. The rapidly depleting resource of petroleum is
consumed to extract the gold which ends in effect as money, to be stored in
vaults, without crating a corresponding equivalent of goods or services to buy
with the "wealth" created.</P>
<P>When the productivity of oil wells declines to the point when demand is not
met, its price will rise, and can do that without limit. All the gold in the
world will not be able to reconstruct the oil and other energy consumed in
producing the gold.<SPAN class=634455222-21022006> </SPAN>There is no reverse
alchemy that can turn gold back into the energy that went into the extraction of
the gold.</P>
<P>It would be better to assay the ore and print gold certificates representing
the gold to remain in the ground. People can then buy and sell the certificates
and store them in vaults. In the end, the energy they would have wasted would
still be available for essential uses.</P>
<P><SPAN class=634455222-21022006><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080
size=2>--</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><SPAN
class=634455222-21022006><STRONG>A particularly good site piece on oil resources
and economics nonsense is at:</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2><A
href="http://www.tasman.net/ael/matter.htm">http://www.tasman.net/ael/matter.htm</A></FONT></P><SPAN
class=594123104-17112004><FONT color=#000000>
<P><FONT face=Verdana color=#000080 size=2></FONT><BR><FONT face=Verdana
size=2>Sandy Pollard</FONT></P>
<P><SPAN class=634455222-21022006></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana><FONT size=2><FONT
color=#000080>P<SPAN class=634455222-21022006>S - <SPAN
class=634455222-21022006>How was
<EM>Syriana</EM>?</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT><FONT><SPAN class=634455222-21022006><SPAN
class=634455222-21022006></SPAN></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=634455222-21022006></SPAN><FONT face=Verdana><FONT size=2><FONT
color=#000080>-<SPAN
class=634455222-21022006>-</SPAN></FONT><BR></FONT></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></SPAN></BODY></HTML>