Shutting Off Liberty and the Rule of Law
If you want to know why countries that are rich in resources are often poor in liberty, justice, the rule of law, and prosperity, start by reading Ibsen Martinez’s column on “The Curse of the Petro-State: The Example of Venezuela” from econlib.org. (The emerging literature on petro states and rent-extraction states generally is enormous; the challenge is to figure out how to build institutions of governance in states that began to exploit oil before they developed robust institutions and the rule of law.)
Oil has sinister influence also on countries that import it. It is the main reason the West has tolerated, and still tolerates, the rise of Islamic extremism. Some time ago I had an e-mail argument with Dr. Palmer that we have to prepare to end the fossil fuel era and to rely heavily on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. Fareed Zakaria presents a similar viewpoint in a better way at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9024768/site/newsweek/ (How to escape the oil trap).
My relatives living in the USA are amazed by the number of people there using sport utility vehicles without being farmers, rangers or mountain inhabitants. It seems that for too many Americans energy efficiency is an idea with no touch to their actual lives. Perhaps it’s time to change the attitude?