On: Iran war: Brent oil briefly hits $119 as talks stall

The price of oil rises. The strait is blocked. The fleet is deployed. The cost is tallied. These are the signs, but they are not the cause. The cause is the shift in power, the ambition of one, the fear of the other. The strait is merely the place where the conflict finds its expression. The blockade is the pretext, but the reason is the structure of fear and ambition that has made this war not only possible, but inevitable. The strong impose their will; the weak resist where they can. The price of oil is the measure of the world’s suffering, but the suffering itself is the work of men who act from necessity, not malice. They speak of rights, of security, of honor - but these are the words that adorn the actions that power demands. I record the price, the blockade, the cost. Let others draw the moral. The facts are grave enough.