ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the dimensions of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) myth: the positioning of OPEC in the national energy situation; public perceptions of the relationship between energy prices and OPEC; and the impact of OPEC on the United States (US). During 1979, more than two-thirds of Americans believed that OPEC oil price increases would damage the US economy. Some people have argued that the US should forbid the oil companies from deals with OPEC and should have the government buy all the oil people import. The question addresses by Professor Doran in his treatment of myths associated with the political economy of petroleum. Doran began by treating OPEC as though it were a cartel and examined its potential cohesiveness. Moreover, American public believes that OPEC pricing policies are damaging to the US economy and require retributive measures. From its incomplete perception of OPEC, the American public has, like the ancient Greeks, fashioned a chimaera.
