title: Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil
author:  Timothy Mitchell 
description: "Timothy Mitchells <i>Carbon Democracy </i>examines the simultaneous rise of fossil-fueled capitalism and mass democracy and asks very intelligent questions about the fate of democracy when oil production declines."<br /><b>Benjamin Kunkel, <i>New Statesman</i></b><i><br /></i><br /><i>Carbon Democracy</i> is a sweeping overview of the relationship between fossil fuels and political institutions from the industrial revolution to the Arab Spring, which adds layers of depth and complexity to the accounts of how resource wealth and economic development are linked.<br /><b><i>Financial Times</i></b><br /><br />A challenging, sophisticated, and important book.<br /><b>Marc Lynch, <i>Foreign Policy</i></b><br /><br /> A brilliant, revisionist argument that places oil companies at the heart of 20th century historyand of the political and environmental crises we now face If were ever to curb such behaviour, and to regain some comprehension of our planets preciousness, we need first to understand how it came about. Not a book for the season of indulgence, this one. But one that demands to be widely shared.<br /><b>Susanna Rustin, <i>Guardian</i></b><br /><br />This study of the basis of modern democracy over the past century connects oil-producing states of the Middle East with industrial democracies of the West. Mitchell argues that carbon democracy in the West has been based on the assumption that unlimited oil will produce endless economic growth, and he concludes that this model cannot survive the exhaustion of these fuels and associated climate change. Tim Mitchell has written a remarkable book that deserves a wide audience.<br /><b>Mahmood Mamdani, author of <i>Good Muslim, Bad Muslim</i></b><br /><br />Its a book that tackles a really big subject, in a sweeping but readable fashion, and after reading it, its hard to imagine thinking about political power the same way again ... This book utterly blew me away.<br /><b>Matt Stoller, <i>Naked Capitalism</i> </b><br /><br /> A remarkable account of the politics of oil and nation building in the Middle East.<br /><b><i>The Herald</i></b>
zlib_text: Carbon Democracy
  
  Carbon Democracy
  political power in the age of oil
  Timothy Mitchell
  
  First published by Verso 2011
  © Timothy Mitchell 2011
  All rights reserved
  T e moral rights of the author have been asserted
  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
  Verso
  UK: 6 Meard Street, London W1F 0EG
  US: 20 Jay Street, Suite 1010, Brooklyn, NY 11201
  www.versobooks.com
  Verso is the imprint of New Lef  Books
  ISBN-13: 978-1-84467-745-0
  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
  A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
  Typeset in Minion Pro by Hewer UK Ltd, Edinburgh
  Printed in the US by Maple Vail
  
  To Adie and JJ
  
  Contents
    Acknowledgements 
  ix
    Introduction 
  1
  1 Machines of Democracy 
  12
  2 T e Prize from Fairyland 
  43
  3 Consent of the Governed 
  66
  4 Mechanisms of Goodwill 
  86
  5 Fuel Economy 
  109
  6 Sabotage 
  144
  7 T e Crisis T at Never Happened 
  173
  8 McJihad