4
Supply and Demand
Even non-economists have heard of the ‘law’ of supply and demand.
Supply and demand conspire to determine every part of our economy–they control how much we pay and how much we get paid.
Have a look at Krugman and Wells, Chapters 3 and 4.
Knowing about supply and demand is enough to give most the theories about ‘peak oil’ a bit of a twist. (’Peak oil’ is the theory that we are running out of oil right now).
Here is a movie trailer that predicts quite terrible things for the future.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O68MX-86hOk]
And here is a slightly more nuanced view. You decide who is right.