THE ADDICTED EMPIRE
How Oil Became the Drug of Nations
Stage
/ Symptom
1. Discovery (The First Dose)
Individual Addict (Drug)
Finds a substance that makes him feel powerful, pain-free, and invincible. Believes he’s found meaning.
2. Initial Euphoria Lives under the illusion of control:“IcanquitwheneverI want.” Feels superior and unstoppable.
3. Denial “I’m not addicted; I just need it to function.” Convinces himself he’s fine.
4. Growing Tolerance
Needs larger doses to get the same effect. The body adapts and demands more.
5. Physical and Mental Deterioration Body decays; mind narrows around the next fix. Life shrinks to the habit.
6. Lies and Manipulation
7. Isolation
8. Aggressive Behavior
9. Moral and Material Collapse
10. Withdrawal
11. Forced Intervention (Rehabilitation)
12. Possible Recovery
Lies, steals, manipulates to maintain the habit. Trust evaporates.
Family and friends pull away. Only the substance remains.
Strikes at anyone who blocks access. Violence becomes reflex.
Loses job, dignity, health, and purpose. Exists only to consume.
When trying to quit: shakes, sweats, panic, emptiness.
Sometimes only collapse or outside help triggers change.
By accepting the disease, he can rebuild and find anew life.
Oil-Dependent State (Petroleum)
Discovers oil: rapid growth, sudden wealth, industrial supremacy. Believes it is the endless source of progress.
Lives a golden age: booming economy, mass consumption, global power. “We have enough for centuries.”
Downplays climate and energy risks. Performs a “green transition” while expanding extraction. “We’re not ready to stop yet.”
Needs more barrels, more control, sometimes more wars to keep the economy alive.
Ecosystems collapse; pollution rises; innovation stalls. Policy orbits around oil.
Spinsnumbers,manipulates markets, fabricates pretexts. Moral legitimacy erodes.
Breaks alliances, violates treaties, drifts into diplomatic isolation in the name of “energy security.”
Invades or destabilizes others to secure supply,brandingit “freedom” or “national interest.”
Loses its compass. Spirals through crises, debt, and ecological ruin. Exists to sustain oil flow.
When prices crash or output falls: recession, unemployment, social unrest; panic replaces reason.
Only a global shock or paradigm shift forces transition. Detox will be painful.
By admitting addiction and embracing clean energy, it can be reborn as a post-oil civilization if it truly wants to heal.
Sincerely,
Dr. Horacio Jesús Téllez Oliva. Doctor of Physical Sciences
Email: Horacio.jesus@yahoo.es
