The Return of Big Oil - Exxon-Mobil merger represents dangerous thinking

We should be suspicious of the "global competition" logic the oil companies are using to justify their merger. The executives claim that record low prices for oil and the intense competition to explore new, remote oil fields require them to cut costs. But this merger is not necessary. The two companies were not in any financial trouble. They decided to merge simply because they saw they could make even more money.

The relentless drive to drill more oil and get it to market is a foolish, thoughtless process. Oil is an exhaustible resource, and the drilling and pollution caused by our reliance on fossil fuels are doing serious damage to the Earth.

When CEOs and politicians talk about global competition, they are referring to this mindless process of producing more and more goods for a theoretically infinite market. That market nearly collapsed, however, when the Asian financial crisis hit. Prices for oil and other commodities are low mainly because demand in Asia has dried up. Thus, corporations are faced with a glut of oil and other commodities. The sensible response is not to rush ahead madly, cutting jobs and producing more and more commodities. Now is the time to think about conservation, environmental protection, and policies that lift wages for workers and consumers.

Instead, private greed is dictating a destructive, short-term strategy. The fight for the public interest has never been more urgent.