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On other hand, I always think: Many poor countries, especially in Africa, complain that their resources are exploited and they get nothing from it. But that d
by thriftwy 9y ago
On other hand, I always think:
Many poor countries, especially in Africa, complain that their resources are exploited and they get nothing from it.
But that doesn't just happens with (Saudi) Arabs. You just don't try to exploit Arabs. When you try, you're the one who gets in debt prison. So at least they're doing something right.
Just my tangential 2c to your spot-on comment.
- IAmEveryone 9y agoIf you look at ressource-rich countries in Africa, you will actually see a somewhat similar structure: Equatorial Guinea, for example, is one of the world’s most expensive places to live and has a large ruling elite syphoning up the spoils of the county’s wealth in oil. The difference is only the far larger populations of these countries. In that regard, it’s a model comparable to tax havens, in that it doesn’t work once the population grows too large. FWIW, Saudi Arabia also has a large underclass of what are essentially slaves building the country’s tacky infrastructure. But because they are immigrants, Saudi Arabia, as a country, is commonly seen as the perpetrator and not the victim in this scheme. Edit: thriftwy’s criticism of this theory below is probably right. An index of <revenue from resources>/<population> would be helpful.
- thriftwy 9y agoSaudi Arabia population is 30M actually (much higher than I guessed before checking, and on par with many African countries). And it is NOT dominated by immigrants, unlike UAE.