Let us consider a situation which occurred in the early 20th century where coal miners were underpaid and went on strike. They demanded higher wages, justly. But the mine owners could not afford to pay them more, while retaining their large profits, because doing so would reduce their ability to compete with other coal companies. If other coal companies agreed to pay their employees higher wages, prices would increase for consumers, who would in turn be unsupportive. The result was a violent strike which lasted over a year, slaughtered dozens of innocent women and children, and no improvements were achieved.

Now imagine the same situation, but in this case all natural resources are owned and operated by the government. The miners are underpaid, so the wages of all miners everywhere are increased to an industry standard. Prices to consumers rise, but only to the rate necessary to insure the fair treatment of miners. The public is aware they are receiving the product at the lowest possible cost, which is lower than it would be if natural resources were privately owned by people deriving great wealth at the expense of their employees. So the reality here is that consumers pay less and miners are treated fairly.

If the purpose of organized society is to bring the highest possible quality of life to the largest number of people, public ownership of all natural resources is necessary in order to achieve that. It is completely unnecessary to pay private companies huge sums of money to operate the mining, oil, hydroelectric and other industries which can be effectively operated by government employees. Natural resources do not belong to individuals because individuals did not create them. These resources exist in the natural environment and belong to everyone, including wildlife and ecosystems, equally. They must be managed in order to benefit everyone equally, and this does not occur when private companies derive profits by adding additional costs to the price paid by consumers, often at the expense of the environment.

The principle of supply and demand fails when the demand is constant and the supply is controlled. In spite of consistent supply, oil prices have soared unchecked because futures traders predict prices will continue to rise and artificially inflate those prices. Gas prices recently soared to over $4 a gallon in the US for this very reason. A publicly owned oil industry would set prices directly related to production and distribution costs. If the demand exceeds supply, prices could be raised to avoid shortages and finance alternative fuel sources, but the additional income would not simply turn into profits for a greedy few.

In order for any of this to work the same situation must be applied worldwide, which is another example of why we need a single worldwide government.