Is it possible to reduce consumption in such a way that no one is left completely out in the cold? In today's economy a reduction in consumption leads to unemployment and hardship for many, even when there is enough to go around.

If our economy must contract with the end of cheap oil, is it possible to restructure the financial/industrial world so as to avoid disaster?

The more inequality in income and wealth, the harder it will be. The haves not only have more, but they have the power to keep their share, buttressed by the law of property rights. History shows that the powerful have used property rights to justify the most cruel and inhumane treatment imaginable of the less fortunate. Never forget that at the height of the Irish potato famine, English landholders were exporting food right under the hungary mouths of starving children. Unless there is a plan that provides for everyone there will be widespread suffering and perhaps chaos

I've seen little effort on this front by economists, liberal or conservative. They seem to be happy with determining how to maintain consumption as the engine to drive the economy, ignoring the fact that unless a miraculous technical breakthrough occurs, we will be consuming less--a lot less--ten years from now, perhaps sooner, as the scarcity of cheap oil makes itself felt everywhere.