As petrol prices soar, I find myself thinking about previous turning points in world economic history — such as the industrial revolution — and the incredible pain they caused in the short and medium term.
Yes, in the long run the industrial revolution brought us reliable heating and lighting, shorter working hours, meaningful public health and countless other social benefits, but not before it turned a generation of agriculture workers into underemployed social outcasts.
We know this because the UK kept height records of convicts transported to Australia, and they actually got shorter during the industrial revolution because of growing malnutrition. (I majored in economic history.)
The luddites famously fought against industrialisation, destroying the factories that were taking their jobs. But they were fighting a losing battle. The forces of industrialisation were overwhelming.
Today, the luddites want to fight history once more.
Reportedly, 80% of Australians want the government to "take action" against rising petrol prices. Why? Because they're hurting. Badly. If you can't get to a job or university or hospital because of petrol prices then you are cut off from modern Australia. That sort of dislocation is unacceptable in a nation as wealthy as ours.
But the proposed solution — "acting" against rising petrol prices — is as ludicrous as smashing factories. Our grandchildren will look back on this era of public opinion in the same way that we look back on the luddites.
The focus of our action should not be on petrol prices, which can't be "fixed", but on social dislocation, which can. We must increase housing density in the city and along major public transport corridors so more Australians can enjoy the privileges that were take for granted here in Chippendale. We must radically increase public transport throughout the city, from the fringes to the core. And we must halt the construction of all new low-density suburbs on the edge of Sydney.
