Gasoline prices! Is it price gouging? Your answer depends on whether you are a socialistic thinker or a free enterprise thinker.
Socialistic thinkers would claim that property should be distributed equally among the inhabitants of a society, maybe even among the inhabitants of the world. Therefore, those who control the oil supply, refining operations, and distribution are acting immorally, when they withhold supplies of a product or increase prices beyond what socialistic thinkers believe is reasonable.
Free enterprise thinkers would claim that opportunities should exist for individuals to discover, claim, and develop real and intellectual property for their own benefit. Therefore, they have the right to withhold supply of a product or increase price.
Socialistic thinking is part of human compassion. Free enterprise thinking is part of human greed. A quick consideration of the fate of the Soviet Union and human rights in Cuba and China, show that extreme socialistic thinking has its pitfalls. Early development of our country showed some significant disadvantages in unbridled free enterprise thinking. We now travel the middle road, with coop schools, roads, savings & loans, etc., but we also maintain a society based on private property ownership.
The fact is that if a person has an oil well in the U.S., it is considered his property, and he has the legal right to do with it what he wishes, at least within the limitations of what the EPA says. A socialistic thinker might also say that since that is the case in the U.S., an Arab owning an oil well in an Arabic country also has a similar right.
We can proceed with this argument through the refinery stage. Refineries cost a lot of money to build, and therefore, they usually become the property of a company, which is another form of coop. Since this is private property, should not the owner have the right to say how the refinery is operated? That is, run at full capacity to satisfy the public's desire for production at the risk of damaging its equipment and the health of the employees? Maybe the public thought is that the management of the refinery is doing a poor job, and the operation should be turned over to the government. Before we travel this road, look again at what happened to the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and what is now happening in Cuba and North Korea.
The qustion might then be raised as to whether the public has any rights in a free enterprise society. The answer is an obvious yes. In the short term, the people can choose an alternative product or process and gain release from the control of the free enterpriser. That may require some suffering but can be considered delayed payment for not having the forsight to previously obtain economic independence. For gasoline, it means don't buy it. Walk or use a bicycle. car pool as much as possible. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, most people find it easier to vocally complain, and hope someone can wave a magic wand to get them out of their difficulty.
Am I being preyed upon through gasoline price gouging?
As a socialistic thinker, the answer is "yes". As a free enterprise thinker, the answer is "no". Maybe we should talk about the present high price of gasoline, why it is that way, and what we can do about. But before we attack that problem, we need clear thinking. Are we bunch of "pie in the sky" socialists or are we a bunch of greedy capitalists out to fleece the poor? Maybe somewhere in between?