What is the impact of Rising Costs: Food, Energy, and Commodities on Future Social Movements?

Over the past three years we have seen 50%, 100% or more increases in the price of energy, food, and most major commodities. What impact will this have on future social movements?

Already we've seen a wave of Arab revolutions sparked by increased food prices.

I believe that the number and size of the price shocks will increase for the next fifty years due to resource scarcity and growing demand.

In response, we will see more and larger social movements. These movements will be more successful and seek change that is more radical. Many of these movements will be shaped by the types of price shocks.

I'm not sure about whether the price shocks will be narrow and affect a small range of commodities or much broader. For instance it is likely that food prices are strongly correlated with energy, however we could also run out of a single metal - like nickel or copper.

I think in most cases a commodities price shock will most affect the poor in the developing world. People in rich countries could be disproportionately affected, but would be able to survive a shortage of a rare metal used in the creation of flat screens. People in rich countries rely more upon services and value added to basic commodities. So even though they use a lot more energy than the poor (as especially the extremely poor who use nearly zero electricity or gas directly), an energy price shock will not cause them to revolt as quickly.

For people in the developing world price shocks will come around the same time that they are exposed to an increasing number of environmental shocks.

Eventually people in the rich countries will rise up to oppose the price shocks. This could see the environmental movement transition from a "save the earth" message to a more "save my money" oriented one. My hope is that trying to end the price shocks will lead to people questioning capitalism and unending material growth.

We could see a stronger labor movement as people see their wages being cut by higher commodity prices and ultimately decide to fight for all of the profits from their labor. This might be accompanied by a movement for redistribute the tax burden away from the poor and working classes.