Arab countries (whatever religion), in particular, seem to be mired in corruption. And corruption seems, to me, to be a low trust equilibrium of societies that

Arab countries (whatever religion), in particular, seem to be mired in corruption. And corruption seems, to me, to be a low trust equilibrium of societies that is hard to get out of. The cycle seems to go: You can't trust authority to help you, So you must rely on your family or patronage to get ahead, In return you become obligated to your own network, If you get authority you misuse your power to favour your own (besides everyone else is doing it), and outsiders can't trust authority to help them. The lack of trust discourages investment. Why invest if someone else will use their power to take the proceeds away. It seems to me the this is the main reason that there still are poor countries in the world. I've heard that there is an afghan saying: "brother before cousin, cousin before clan, clan before country." But the examples are endless: Arab clan/sect networks, Mafia bosses, Roman Patricians, Feudal lords, Chinese Guanxi patronage networks, African tribal networks.