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Rich countries carry out '21st century land grab'

6 points by alexandros 18y ago

tjic 18y ago
So some people value cash more than land, and other people value land more than cash, and they've worked out a consensual, mutually advantageous deal, without getting government or a bunch of unelected technocrats in the loop. Oh Noz! The sky is falling!
mhartl 18y ago
History may be repeating itself. Until the mid-20th century, many European countries grew rich on the resources of their colonies. This is true, if by "history" you mean "Something about the past that lots of people believe, but is wrong."
- turkishrevenge 18y ago
  Would you care to elaborate?
  - mhartl 18y ago
    Though it makes for a nice good vs. evil story, the idea that big bad European nations got rich by exploiting resource-rich colonies has little basis in fact. If I recall my high-school European history right, historians are divided on whether colonies were even a net economic positive. In any case, wealth comes from productive capacity (the ability to produce things people want), and raw materials are only one (relatively minor) aspect of production. The wealthiest nations are typically those that have expertise at turning raw materials into other things; in fact, historically many of the wealthiest nations (such as the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Japan) have been relatively resource-poor. European countries got rich the old-fashioned way, through technological innovation, trade, and a division-of-labor society based on private property rights.
flashgordon 18y ago
What this does not address is that the richer countries have a lot more leverage than the poorer nations (duh). As a result, even though in theory it may present a lot more opportunities for the poorer nations to trade resources for help, the lack of leverage may mean a more tending towards slavery (except with "formalised" agreements). One way around this would be if the poorer nations united to increase their collective bargaining power. But isnt the lack of unity one of the causes of poverty (from wars and ethnic conflicts)?

6 points by alexandros 18y ago

tjic 18y ago

So some people value cash more than land, and other people value land more than cash, and they've worked out a consensual, mutually advantageous deal, without getting government or a bunch of unelected technocrats in the loop. Oh Noz! The sky is falling!

mhartl 18y ago

History may be repeating itself. Until the mid-20th century, many European countries grew rich on the resources of their colonies. This is true, if by "history" you mean "Something about the past that lots of people believe, but is wrong."

turkishrevenge 18y ago
Would you care to elaborate?
- mhartl 18y ago
  Though it makes for a nice good vs. evil story, the idea that big bad European nations got rich by exploiting resource-rich colonies has little basis in fact. If I recall my high-school European history right, historians are divided on whether colonies were even a net economic positive. In any case, wealth comes from productive capacity (the ability to produce things people want), and raw materials are only one (relatively minor) aspect of production. The wealthiest nations are typically those that have expertise at turning raw materials into other things; in fact, historically many of the wealthiest nations (such as the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Japan) have been relatively resource-poor. European countries got rich the old-fashioned way, through technological innovation, trade, and a division-of-labor society based on private property rights.

flashgordon 18y ago

What this does not address is that the richer countries have a lot more leverage than the poorer nations (duh). As a result, even though in theory it may present a lot more opportunities for the poorer nations to trade resources for help, the lack of leverage may mean a more tending towards slavery (except with "formalised" agreements). One way around this would be if the poorer nations united to increase their collective bargaining power. But isnt the lack of unity one of the causes of poverty (from wars and ethnic conflicts)?