---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As events developed, the debate about…"
description: "\"“As events developed, the debate about jobs and energy extraction in general became more divisive. Those at one extreme embraced the industry as an exp..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-wilber-113452_business_as-events-developed-the-debate-about-job_1836760.jpg"
---

#  As events developed, the debate about jobs and energy…

![“As events developed, the debate about jobs and energy extraction in general became more divisive. Those at one extreme embraced the industry as an expression of old-fashioned free enterprise. It offered work that built character and brought deserving rewards for those with initiative, whether they…” quote by Tom Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-wilber-113452_business_as-events-developed-the-debate-about-job_1836760.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-wilber-113452_business_as-events-developed-the-debate-about-job_1836760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-wilber-113452_business_as-events-developed-the-debate-about-job_1836760.jpg)

> ““As events developed, the debate about jobs and energy extraction in general became more divisive. Those at one extreme embraced the industry as an expression of old-fashioned free enterprise. It offered work that built character and brought deserving rewards for those with initiative, whether they be roughnecks working twelve-hour shifts, investors staking their capital, or researchers staking their reputation on the next big discovery. At the other end of the spectrum were those who saw the industry as a relic of grandfather clauses and cronyism that dated to a period of predatory exploitation, when fantastical deals were pitched by door-to-door peddlers, manufacturing waste was buried in lagoons on private property, and unions were nonexistent. The middle ground was occupied by an untold number of consumers used to cheap plentiful energy, and property owners, who had their worries but also were able to calculate how much a mineral rights lease might be worth.””

Tom Wilber

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Energy extraction sparks polarized views; extremes glorify or condemn it, while most consumers seek affordable power.

**In simple terms:** Energy debates are polarized between extremes and practicality.

Key Takeaway

Balance perspectives on energy policy.

Themes

business free enterprise industry energy politics consumer environment

Mood

analytical concerned

Type

informative debate

When to use this quote

- policy making
- investment decisions
- community activism
- career choices

Key Concepts

economics political science ethics energy policy

Questions to Reflect On

- How can balanced policies be promoted?
- What compromises satisfy both sides?

A Different Perspective

Middle ground often lacks strong advocacy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Free enterprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-enterprise/) [Middle ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-ground/) [Private property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-property/)

## Related quotes

> [“Future historians, I hope, will consider the American fast food industry a relic of the twentieth century — a set of attitudes, systems, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/future-historians-i-hope-will-consider-the-american-fast-food-2/)

[Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/)

> [Future historians, I hope, will consider the American fast food industry a relic of the twentieth century--a set of attitudes, systems, and beliefs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/future-historians-i-hope-will-consider-the-american-fast-food/)

[Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/)

> [It proved easier to buy the farm to get the mineral rights than to buy the coal rights alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orville-redenbacher/it-proved-easier-to-buy-the-farm-to-get-the-mineral-rights-than-to/)

[Orville Redenbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orville-redenbacher/)

> [Most people who are selling their mineral rights, this is a once-in-a-lifetime transaction. The people who are buying, the landmen who are coming in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-dewine/most-people-who-are-selling-their-mineral-rights-this-is-a-once-in-a/)

[Mike DeWine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-dewine/)

> [There's a transparency revolution sweeping the world. The more you can have transparency of payments, the more you'll be able to follow the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-elliott/there-s-a-transparency-revolution-sweeping-the-world-the-more-you-can/)

Michael Elliott

> [The meek shall inherit the Earth, but not its mineral rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/the-meek-shall-inherit-the-earth-but-not-its-mineral-rights/)

[J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/)

> [..remember that under our institutions there was no middle ground for the negro race between slavery and equal citizenship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/remember-that-under-our-institutions-there-was-no-middle-ground-for/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [Follow your bliss. That which you love you must spend your life doing, as passionately and as perfectly as your heart, mind and instincts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lois/follow-your-bliss-that-which-you-love-you-must-spend-your-life-doing/)

[George Lois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lois/)

> [It's important as a team that you don't get too excited with a win and you don't get too disappointed with a loss. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haskell/it-s-important-as-a-team-that-you-don-t-get-too-excited-with-a-win/)

[James Haskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haskell/)

> [There is a middle ground in things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/there-is-a-middle-ground-in-things/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [People feel removed from sexism. 'I'm not a sexist, but I'm not a feminist.' They think there's this fuzzy middle ground. There's no fuzzy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/people-feel-removed-from-sexism-i-m-not-a-sexist-but-i-m-not-a/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/when-you-play-the-game-of-thrones-you-win-or-you-die-there-is-no/)

[George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/)

> [“There’s a big middle ground between pedestal and porn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-harlow/there-s-a-big-middle-ground-between-pedestal-and-porn/)

[Melanie Harlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-harlow/)

> [You can have information and ease of use and have artistic integrity at the same time. The art of being a good Web designer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-davidson/you-can-have-information-and-ease-of-use-and-have-artistic-integrity/)

[Mike Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davidson/)

> [Rapping and singing are not two polar opposites. There's so much middle ground. And I think there's a lot of people who find that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-koenig/rapping-and-singing-are-not-two-polar-opposites-there-s-so-much/)

[Ezra Koenig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-koenig/)

## More Business quotes

> [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/)

[Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/)

> [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/)

[Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/)

> [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/)

[Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/)

> [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/)

[Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/)

> [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/)

[Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/)

[Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/)

> [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/)

[Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/)

> [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/)

[Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/)

> [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/)

[Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/)

> [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

[Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“As events developed, the debate about jobs and energy extraction in general became more divisive. Those at one extreme embraced the industry as an expression of old-fashioned free enterprise. It offered work that built character and brought deserving rewards for those with initiative, whether they be roughnecks working twelve-hour shifts, investors staking their capital, or researchers staking their reputation on the next big discovery. At the other end of the spectrum were those who saw the industry as a relic of grandfather clauses and cronyism that dated to a period of predatory exploitation, when fantastical deals were pitched by door-to-door peddlers, manufacturing waste was buried in lagoons on private property, and unions were nonexistent. The middle ground was occupied by an untold number of consumers used to cheap plentiful energy, and property owners, who had their worries but also were able to calculate how much a mineral rights lease might be worth.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tom Wilber"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wilber/as-events-developed-the-debate-about-jobs-and-energy-extraction-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Business"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wilber/as-events-developed-the-debate-about-jobs-and-energy-extraction-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-wilber-113452_business_as-events-developed-the-debate-about-job_1836760.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-wilber-113452_business_as-events-developed-the-debate-about-job_1836760.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-wilber-113452_business_as-events-developed-the-debate-about-job_1836760.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“As events developed, the debate about jobs and energy extraction in general became more divisive. Those at…” — Tom Wilber",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Tom Wilber",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wilber/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“As events developed, the debate about...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wilber/as-events-developed-the-debate-about-jobs-and-energy-extraction-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wilber/as-events-developed-the-debate-about-jobs-and-energy-extraction-in/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
