A Final Root of Violence: American Overconsumptionism

The final ethical issue that I have chosen to break down is the issue of overconsumption and the imperial mode of living.

It is no secret that the United States lives well above their means in regard to energy and natural resource usage. According to Scientific American, we hold less than 5% of the population yet use a quarter of the world’s oil, 23% of it's coal, 27% of it's aluminum and 19% of it's copper.

It has been argued by some that the initial reasoning for the invasion of Iraq, despite outwardly calling it a war on terror, was actually a way to reach its vast oil reserves. I am not writing this post to either back up or deny this claim. I am here, however, to discuss the vast growth of American business dealings and natural resource use within the Middle East.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Iraq is home to over 112 billion barrels of oil and comes in second only to Saudi Arabia for largest-known oil reserves.

The United States imported 11.3 million barrels of Iraqi oil in December 2002 while Saudi Arabia imported 56.2 million, Canada imported 46.2 million, the United Kingdom imported 11.7 million and Norway imported 4.5 million.

Additionally, in 2020, 66% of U.S. petroleum consumption went to transportation, 28% went to industrial use, 3% went to residential use and 2% went to commercial use.

Due to the United States’ vast and quick consumption of natural resources, oil has always played an important role in American foreign policy decisions. As the United States believes that Iraq and Iran are dangerous nations, the desire to prevent them from using Saudi Arabian oil fields remains at the forefront. Hence, why we have such a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Former head of U.S. Central Command and Military Operations in Iraq said in 2007 that, “Of course it’s about oil; we can’t really deny that.” Additionally, vice president at the time, Dick Cheney, wrote in the 2001 energy security report that a “impending global energy crisis would increase U.S. and global vulnerability to disruption.”

While the obtaining of oil might not have been a main goal, it certainly was a large goal. While U.S. companies gain much profit, Iraq’s economy has suffered.

We see this in Riverbend’s discussion of having to wait for hours at the gas station. Right from the beginning of her blog she discusses the dwindling electricity in Baghdad and the scarcity of fuel. Gas cylinders remain scarce and they can barely cook without using a kerosene heater. She states, “We’re an oil country and yet there isn’t enough gasoline to go around… The Americans have gasoline. The militias get gasoline.”

In 1980, Iraq laid claim to the second largest economy in the Arab world, mostly thanks to their petroleum exports. After the beginning of the Iraq War, oil production and economic development faced a decline. The violence, inflation and shortage of supplies took a toll on Iraq. Both the Coalition Provisional Authority, put in place by the United States, and the Iraqi administrations that governed after that faced challenges. High unemployment, extremely high prices for basic items and loss of access to basic services shut down the economy. U.S. attacks led to even more damage to communication and energy suppliers.

Whether intended or not, the American presence in Iraq left a hard blow to Iraqi economy and contributed further to the American theme of overconsumption.

In The Imperial Mode of Living and the Crisis of the Regulation of Society-Nature Relations, as discussed in class, we see that, “The capitalist mode of production…is expansive and geared towards increasing surplus value, production and consumption.” (697). This pursuit of a “Western lifestyle” is not universally sustainable and will not be able to be upheld if taken on by the whole world.

It is, additionally an example of “exploitative society-nature relations that depend on using ever more fossil resources.” (698). The author additionally stated that since 1990, we have seen an increase in the kind of accumulation that penetrates capitalist labour relations into “new social and geographic spaces” –aka the need to expand into new regions in the Middle East.

Therefore, it is evident from this discussion that the United States was, in some capacity, exploitative of human life in order for a growth in economy and eventual capital gain. Placing one's richness and profit over the value of human life is a severe morale issue in the eyes of Christianity.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 states: "Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless." Despite our vast economy and steady incomes, we still aim to encroach on other living beings for the sake of economic growth.

I will conclude this blog post with this passage from 1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." As argued in my previous posts, the idea of war for personal gain and the evident undervaluing of human life is a root of moral wrongdoing and we must, as a nation, face the realities of our impact on the people, political life and economics of our neighbor to the east; the beautiful and historically rich country of Iraq.