Although the heads of the world’s largest oil-producing nations were quick to claim a diplomatic victory following the latest OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries “plus” non-OPEC oil producers) output-cut agreement, crude prices are telling a different story. Prompt month Brent and WTI futures contracts are now trading nearly 20 percent below their early April highs, both returning to a supercontango forward curve price structure following the conclusion of the OPEC+ meeting.

In an article published in Italian on April 13 and translated here into English, the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben raises some points that merit careful consideration.

Listen to the Audio Mises Wire version of this article.

In the early days of the COVID-19 panic—about three weeks ago—it was common to hear both of these phrases often repeated:

[This is the preface for the Mises Institute’s new online book Anatomy of the Crash: The Financial Crisis of 2020.]