cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/46788659
Looking at how much conflict natural resource-rich countries (oil, gold, diamonds…) seem to attract, I wonder whether such wealth is more a curse than a blessing.
Many regions with scarce natural resources, adapted & perform very well. Some of the richest are examples (Switzerland, Luxembourg, Singapore…)
Looks to me like the greed for them attracts conflicts: civil wars, invasions etc. Cultural, ethnic, religious reasons often just seem to be used to cover it.
Plus all the environmental destruction / pollution that come with the extraction & processing.
Well some have way more “valueable” ones than others. I don’t believe it’s a size related thing (considering Africa, South America, Eastern Europe…). Here is a link somebody sent me, seems to be an actual theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_curse
yeah I am aware of the theory im just not sure how much credence I feel it has because it feels like cherry picking. the reason “bad” places have resources is because of how common having resources is. I mean saudi arabi while a monarchy is also a welfare state. They are dicks to low level labor they bring in but for the natives it was not exactly a curse. When you look at oil it seems a lot is related to how well you play ball.