Most of the big oil companies in the world are American, which means they know a thing or two about oil and can manage to keep things going for a while. But only for a while. If oil prices keep shooting up, the western economy will soon grind to a halt, as it almost did, when Iraq's Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait and grabbed its oil wells. But the Americans learnt nothing from the Kuwait episode. They did not switch over to other forms of energy and in fact pressurised the oil producers to reduce oil prices.
Oil is as cheap as water in the United States.
The Americans drive huge cars and most families have two or three of them, one for each member of the family. Petrol prices in the US vary from state to state but it rarely costs more than a couple of dollars for a gallon. Since the average American earns a hundred dollars a day, a couple of dollars for a gallon is no big deal. Now that oil prices have shot up, the truck drivers and others have to pay a few cents more for their gallon than they used to. They are creating ruckus all over the place, especially in Europe, where they are not as rich as the Americans.