Labeling continuous extraction and industrial expansion as "realism" misses a critical market dynamic. When a nation becomes a price taker rather than a price maker—relying on external markets while depleting its own resource base—that's not energy dominance. It's the economic structure you see in emerging markets facing commodity cycles.

True strength means pricing power and strategic reserves. Structural fragility—where growth depends on draining finite resources—compounds systemic risk. The demand cycle eventually contracts, and when it does, nations without diversified economic foundations face leverage problems.

This isn't about ideology. It's basic portfolio management applied to national economics. Sustainability and market resilience require different thinking than short-term extraction metrics.