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Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which is even named after the royal family (who does that anyway?) are countries that offer us a glimpse of neo feudalism (http://en.wik
by tokenizer 13y ago
Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which is even named after the royal family (who does that anyway?) are countries that offer us a glimpse of neo feudalism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-feudalism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-feudalism).
This is a potential problem for every country. While western governments are considered much different than both Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the trajectory is leaning towards the paradigm those two countries occupy. This is of course, inequality, which is the measure that slavery falls onto one side at the end.
We can look at this policy as a policy, or we can have an intellectual argument on the merit of this type of governance. GOVERNMENT is literally what society as a whole, consents to being legitimate use of force. Military, Law, and Order.
No obviously we can assert that the power of the Sauds and the Thani is illegitimate today in the western world, because we ourselves have in our past moved away from the concentrated and hereditary control of power, into the hands of the super rich (the other end of the inequal spectrum).
So while I applaud hrw.org for pointing attention to this horrible policy, and more intellectually honest headline could read, "Qatar's People: Overthrow your illegitimate rulers.".
Any westerners who are reading this article and are upset or angry, need to fight against neo-feudalism in the US and European countries. The only way we can truly help the people of Qatar and Saudi Arabia is by stronghand political means. Not seeing anything from the US regarding these matters speaks volumes of their slide into neo-feudalism in my opinion. This is something seen both by anti-authoritarian leftists AND rightists(is this a word?).
- rhizome 13y agoIt can also be seen as an economic goal, and that some in the Western business environment might actually be jealous of the exit visa policy.
- tokenizer 13y agoGood point. It definitely depends on where policy is being thought up. I would say your point is a solid thing to be worried about, considering the pull the executive public-business class has on the world. My question to you is that if feel like economical arguments trump moral/ethical arguments in terms of legitimate public policy?
- rhizome 13y agoSince capitalism is the national religion of the US and other countries, moral and ethical arguments are going to have to surmount it just like they would in the theocracies of the Middle East.
- nknighthb 13y ago> named after the royal family (who does that anyway?) Depends on the scope of "that", but... Kingdom of Hanover (defunct), Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Liechtenstein, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Carolina (both), Alberta, Prince Edward Island, Victoria. And of course Pennsylvania was named for founder William Penn. Should we start in on cities?
- saljam 13y agoI love this game. Ottoman Empire, Bolivia [1], China [2], Philippines, Mozambique. 1: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvarl http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvarl 2: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Chin http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Chin
- cldr 13y agoMay be worth noting that the Chinese didn't name their country China, they named it Zhong guo.
- benmathes 13y agoWhich is almost more arrogant, since it translates to "The country in the center". It's a little easier to understand why there's a strain of "we are the center of the world, outside our borders are barbarians" when you look at pre-modern borders: China is bordered by oceans, the russian steppes, the xinjian desert, and the tibetan plateau.
- cldr 13y agoWell according to Wikipedia (yeah I know, but I don't feel like searching elsewhere) it may or may not be taken with the meaning "center of the world." And even if it is, it's more of an observation than a boast, since from their perspective they were in the middle of a bunch of other countries like you said. And hey, they call America "beautiful country" so they're not being stingy.
- showerst 13y ago
- informatimago 13y agoQatar has bought France. Complaints won't come from here.