As U.S. energy policy has evolved lately, a number of Administration planners have concluded that the high world oil prices not only pose severe economic problems but also point the way to their solution. The argument: high or relatively high prices can be used to discourage consumption and, more important, to encourage investment in development of new energy sources.
Last week, in a speech before the National Press Club in Washington, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made the strongest affirmation yet of that philosophy. The Secretary coupled a call for a "substantial"...