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> Look at Saudi Arabia. It's possible for liberal western values to exist there. They don't, but the fact that they could still supports what I'm saying. Wher
by Alex3917 6y ago
> Look at Saudi Arabia.
It's possible for liberal western values to exist there. They don't, but the fact that they could still supports what I'm saying.
Whereas in somewhere like Somalia, there is no way they could ever have a liberal western democracy. Basically liberal values are made possible by democracy, but no one adopts democracy in order to have liberal values. People adopt democracy because it's a good way to mediate disputes about how the rules surrounding private property should work, but if people don't have much of value in the first place or any clear path to accrue wealth then it wouldn't make any sense to have a democracy to manage that process.
- jules 6y agoIt's a chicken and egg problem. Is the absence of a path to accrue wealth the reason why Somalia doesn't have a well-functioning political system, or is the bad political situation (part of) the reason why it's so hard for Somalis to accrue wealth? I don't think it's one or the other, it's a complex interplay of both.
- Alex3917 6y agoSure, but if there aren't enough natural resources left for a population to meet its basic needs then that population isn't going to be able to accrue wealth under any circumstance.