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Precisely. The whole point of these massive projects in Dubai, Qatar, Saudi, etc... is effectively make-work for those who might have the ability to one day ov
by NickC25 3y ago
Precisely.
The whole point of these massive projects in Dubai, Qatar, Saudi, etc... is effectively make-work for those who might have the ability to one day overthrow the king....and to make it appear to the populace at large that yes, the ruling families are living super lavishly, but they are* trying to improve the country as a whole to attract FDI, international companies (and universities), etc.. all to improve the country's international image.
*I mean that as loosely as possible. Most middle eastern kings don't give a damn about the general population as long as their power isn't threatened.
Disclaimer: my dad was recruited by the Neom project in Saudi but turned it down. We have a family friend who was high up in the project and said it was effectively a massive pay day for consultants who did nothing besides wax the egos of Saudi princes who want to look good. The project is ambitious as hell and may or may not ever get finished. All that said, the Saudi princes who want to look good don't actually do anything. Much like how the military is staffed by sons of elite families, they aren't educated to actually do what is necessary, because they grew up with beyond-fuck-you-money and never actually had to do any work.
- jacquesm 3y agoSuddenly those Pyramids and the Sphinx make a lot more sense... and they're still lying around a few thousand years later.
- sandworm101 3y agoIt isn't just the middle east. Follow UK history, or any other royal system, and you will find the primary job of the King is always to appease, flatter, suppress, or otherwise occupy the elite families that might one day challenge his. It continues to the present day. All those garden parties. All those property development schemes. All those royal charities run by Oxbridge grads. All those offshore tax havens. Royal families today play the same games in Europe as they do in the middle east. It isn't healthy, but the system has survived the centuries.
- gambiting 3y agoIt's not even remotely on the same scale as the Saudis though. British monarchy is wealthy but compared to the Saudi wealth they are paupers.
- sandworm101 3y agoA UK Peer recently commented that the best way to own property in the UK was to have a relative who was a friend of William the Conqueror. The royal system and its impacts are alive and well today. It is often cited as a reason behind the insane property prices in the UK, with long-held family land restricted the development necessary to meaningfully drop living costs. >> Just 0.3% of the population – 160,000 families – own two thirds of the country. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/17/high-house-prices-inequality-normans https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/17/high-h...
- gbear605 3y agoThe difference is that in the Middle East most of the wealth comes from the land because of oil reserves. In the UK, owning land makes lots of money, but there are plenty of industries that are not based on extracting resources.
- trvz 3y ago> Most middle eastern kings don't give a damn about the general population as long as their power isn't threatened. Most people living comfortably don't give a damn about the general population as long as their way of life isn't threatened.
- lastofthemojito 3y ago> The project is ambitious as hell and may or may not ever get finished Finished? Hell, I'll be surprised if they get started on it in any substantive way.
- Geezus_42 3y agoThe This Machine Kills and Trash Future podcasts have had a lot of great coverage on Neom. Maybe I'll eat my words, but I highly doubt it or any of it's surrounding projects will ever be completed.