We are Living in a Golden Age. Thank God!

Public domain from Starlink
 

We live in a golden age which far surpasses all previous golden ages. Some call it the industrial revolution. Some say it is the digital revolution. This correspondent calls it the petroleum age.

The cost of firearms and ammunition, in terms of labor, is near an all time low. .22 Long Rifle cartridges can be had for under six cents a round, with free shipping, on the Internet.  The all time low, in constant dollars, would be about five cents per round, not including sales and seconds, from 1993 to 2006. Nominal prices are higher, but costs in labor are much lower.

A .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle can be had for $150 or less. A serviceable AR15 type rifle can be had under $300.  The cost of effective arms for the common man has never been so low. Multiple, effective centerfire pistols are available for less than $200, on sale.

Those who live in golden ages seldom consider themselves to be living in a golden age. To them, having been born in, and growing up in a golden age, it is simply normal, what is. Some, perhaps after the golden age is gone, may reflect on what was lost.

The petroleum age differs from all previous ages because it is where we learned to extract energy from the earth, and make that energy available to the vast majority of people.  The precursor was the age of coal. Coal replaced wood for heating in many cities by 1850. 270 million short tons were being produced in the United States by 1900. That was 3.5 tons for every person in the United States. But coal was not nearly as accessible to most people as petroleum has become.

Enormous benefits accrued to many people during the age of coal. The benefits are small compared to those brought by petroleum. Coal is still important in the petroleum age. Today we consume 27 tons of oil and 1.7 tons of coal for every person in the United States every year.

The benefits accrued from the availability of cheap energy have become common in the golden age of petroleum. They include:

• Indoor plumbing and clean indoor pressurized water supply.
• Electric utility service capable of powering our many labor saving devices, including safe, flame free lighting, air conditioning, and communication devices which work at the speed of light.
• Fresh, healthy food available all year round. Food checked at multiple points to insure the absence of parasites, germs, and toxins. Malnutrition is a rarity caused by mental illness, drug use, or war.
• Clothes so cheap many people keep large closets full of apparel. Specialty shoes, weather gear, and “sports” clothes are common.
• Medical care available to nearly all for most ailments. Numerous diseases have been conquered and nearly eliminated. Many current diseases are the product of prosperity. Obesity is not a problem in countries subject to famine. Obesity was associated with wealth, not poverty.
• Increase in life span. The average lifespan has increased from 48.0 years in 1900 to 78.7 years today, an increase of 64%, or 30 years gain in 125 years.
• The ability to search and find information thousands of times faster than any library system which existed before 1980.
• Individual to individual communication throughout most of the world, easy quick, and relatively reliable, cheap enough for the common man or woman.
• World commerce with the ability to buy and sell between continents with ease.
• World wide travel is available to most, with intercontinental travel time measured in hours, not years or months or weeks, or even days.
• The average person in the First World has luxuries commonly available which pharaohs, kings, and emperors before 1800 could barely comprehend or dream of.
• “Retirement” is available to most.  Between 1880 and 2000, old people “outside the labor force” grew from 22% of men over 65 to 82.5% of men and women over 65. In 1880, “retirement” meant a “few years of dependence on children at the end of life”. In 2000, “retirement” meant an “extended period of self financed independence and leisure”.

In the 134 years between 1890 and 2024, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita increased from  $3430 to $45,742, in 1996 dollars, or more than thirteen times as much.  Nearly all of this growth has happened because we have harnessed energy which exists under the ground, to benefit people today. The United States has done this better and more efficiently than any other nation on the planet. In this correspondent’s lifetime, the gdp/capita increased 4X!

Will the petroleum age end? Of course it will. The amount of petroleum available is finite. We do not know how long it will last. The golden age need not end for a very long time. Nuclear fission can supply energy for a couple of hundred years, and nuclear fusion, once harnessed, offers thousands of years beyond that, just from resources available on planet earth. Elon Musk is showing we can access the resources of the solar system. The Moon, alone, offers the potential of fusion energy for a hundred thousand years. In the next hundred or thousand years, we may find a way to access the stars. As Elon Musk has noted, solar energy in space is continuous and reliable. The optimum orbit to harness solar energy changes constantly with available technology.

This correspondent believes God, not man, is ultimately in charge. Perhaps God’s plan includes using humanity to spread life across the universe. God has work for us to do in the new heaven and on the new earth.

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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