Boycott of fuel against monopolistic oil companies

An original idea

May 28, 2004

A reader named Jean-Marc Facchinetti, a doctor in Cannes, had an original idea. What, indeed, is the last resort for "the squeezed"? Answer: a boycott of a consumer product. But he immediately notes that one product seems immune to such action: fuel, absolutely essential for drivers. There is nothing to stop prices at the pump from rising indefinitely. Car drivers know that gas station attendants and fuel delivery personnel are not to blame, and that they earn meager livings serving customers. The real culprits seem untouchable, and the only remaining expression of protest is "grousing"—something politicians and oil conglomerates utterly ignore. There must be psycho-sociological studies aimed at fine-tuning fuel price increases according to individuals' tolerance thresholds. After all, fuel prices are essentially a tax, a form of levy, and a windfall profit for oil companies. In these distribution networks, except for minor discounts offered in large supermarkets, we are in a situation of near-monopoly. Price displays at highway entrances are laughable; no one would think this reflects genuine competition. Facchinetti's idea is to suggest a long-term boycott not of petroleum products themselves, but of a single, randomly chosen distributor—such as SHELL-ESSO, which belong to the same group. I find this idea interesting. Just keep it in mind. Near your