Huh?  Who believes this?  I'm one of the decoder-ring-wearing members of the Economists Club hereabouts, and *I* sure as hell don't believe it.  You can find people who say that markets will save us this time, but I doubt you can find anyone with more than 3 gray cells to rub together who says literally that markets "will always save us".

But that nit aside, I think the only rational way to look at our situation is to take the biggest view possible.  That means recognizing the absolute limits dictated by geology, plus the contributions of technological advancement, markets (meaning economics and market psychology), and public policy.  Dismissing any one of those four is a recipe for error.

But I think you've got it exactly right about why R&D is so low.  Honestly, does anyone think it's a coincidence that almost all parts of the worldwide infrastructure are stretched tight as a piano wire, all at the same time?  If the oil industry decision makers didn't know what was coming you'd expect to see one major bottleneck, not the series of them we have now.

IMO, this is a good thing, as it causes the onset of higher prices a little earlier, and will actually soften the blow by delaying the peak and accelerating the transition away from oil.  Will it be enough of an effect to make a major difference and save us from some human and economic pain?  Who the heck knows, but I prefer our chances with the early price rise to our chances without it.