Country Building 101

Some of the recent posts regarding Saudi Arabia got me thinking. If you were the dictator of an oil rich 3rd world country how would you spend your trillions to build the country into a first world country that would remain a first world country when the oil runs out in 100 years?

I would start with:

1. Small business loans. The middle class is the rock of a first world economy and the first thing to do is to start building it one little business at a time.

2. Infrastructure. Start build very high quality infrastructure. Build to last centuries if possible. Build roads, railroads, utilities, cell phone networks. Infrastructure is the skeleton that the businesses use to grow and it is crucial to developing a first world economy.

3. Education. Build an education system sufficient to populate new jobs being created. But don't overdo it otherwise you have a bunch of unemployed college grads (like Egypt) who are very mad at being unable to find the jobs they were promised.

4. Legal structure for capitalism. You need rules regarding patents, property rights, fraud laws, antitrust laws etc. Capitalism needs rules to function well otherwise it descends into anarchy. But too many rules is a burden on the economy. So I would take advantage of the fact that I'm starting from scratch to have my legal experts pick the rules that are working the best around the world and establish the absolute minimum of regulation that is required for capitalism to function.

Other ideas?

Good list. I'd add that included in the infrastructure I'd build renewable energy systems. It might seem strange in an oil rich state, but in the long run it is better to make money selling your oil while getting free energy at home. I'd also combine aspects of infrastructure and education by building cutting edge research centres. Most of these places are near the equator so I'd look at developing space industry as well.
Of course you do realise that an educated affluent middle class that respects the rule of law is what usually gets rid of dictators and brings in democracy, so I'd be setting up safe havens overseas for my descendants.

Agreed. domestic renewables allowing selling more, and mean that when the oil runs out or becomes uneconomic to collect compared to others, you have guaranteed power for your people.

I too would invest in becoming a high tech research haven, to try and ensure that when people start buying oil replacement tech, im getting a cut of that. I wouldnt rely on oil forever, but have a succession plan to ensure money keeps coming in no matter what others do. I'd also use the high tech emphasis to persuade large companies to base their middle eastern operations in my country, giving the US and EU a reason to help keep my country stable with me in charge, as a revolution would damage the companies and the multinationals from overseas would end up in danger.

Daryl wrote:Good list. I'd add that included in the infrastructure I'd build renewable energy systems. It might seem strange in an oil rich state, but in the long run it is better to make money selling your oil while getting free energy at home. I'd also combine aspects of infrastructure and education by building cutting edge research centres. Most of these places are near the equator so I'd look at developing space industry as well.
Of course you do realise that an educated affluent middle class that respects the rule of law is what usually gets rid of dictators and brings in democracy, so I'd be setting up safe havens overseas for my descendants.

I am amazed to find myself somewhat in agreement regarding renewables.

Solar power is far more plausible in the middle East than in Europe or America for obvious reasons.

The oil and more recently natural gas are a finite resource that can earn you foreign exchange.

For this reason, I do not reject the idea of Iran having nuclear power or even enrichment capability, just high level enrichment or Plutonium production reactors.

Spacekiwi wrote:Agreed. domestic renewables allowing selling more, and mean that when the oil runs out or becomes uneconomic to collect compared to others, you have guaranteed power for your people.

I too would invest in becoming a high tech research haven, to try and ensure that when people start buying oil replacement tech, im getting a cut of that. I wouldnt rely on oil forever, but have a succession plan to ensure money keeps coming in no matter what others do. I'd also use the high tech emphasis to persuade large companies to base their middle eastern operations in my country, giving the US and EU a reason to help keep my country stable with me in charge, as a revolution would damage the companies and the multinationals from overseas would end up in danger.

Daryl wrote:Good list. I'd add that included in the infrastructure I'd build renewable energy systems. It might seem strange in an oil rich state, but in the long run it is better to make money selling your oil while getting free energy at home. I'd also combine aspects of infrastructure and education by building cutting edge research centres. Most of these places are near the equator so I'd look at developing space industry as well.
Of course you do realise that an educated affluent middle class that respects the rule of law is what usually gets rid of dictators and brings in democracy, so I'd be setting up safe havens overseas for my descendants.

Nuke the population then encourage immigration of skilled and educated people.

Spacekiwi wrote:snip

I too would invest in becoming a high tech research haven, to try and ensure that when people start buying oil replacement tech, im getting a cut of that. I wouldnt rely on oil forever, but have a succession plan to ensure money keeps coming in no matter what others do. snip

That means finding a way to store and distribute their abundant solar power. Sounds like research into hydrogen storage would be a priority. Desalination and hydrolysis of sea water using solar energy as a start and eventually fusion.

Of course that would be expensive and the sheiks would have to make their country more accommodating to those that would move there to research and apply research. That means keeping their rabid branch of wahhabists on a leash. That would be tough.

Without foreign investment or immigration turning Saudi Arabia into a research center is a tall order that will take generations. Possible but involving a serious amount of long term planning.

Of course you do realise that an educated affluent middle class that respects the rule of law is what usually gets rid of dictators and brings in democracy, so I'd be setting up safe havens overseas for my descendants.

Perhaps this is another reason (other than sheer incompetence) why the Saudis have not done so. Of course it causes another problem. When the oil runs out in 100 years your descendants are going to need those safe havens anyhow because when that welfare state collapses there will be a revolt.

Foreign investment can be very useful in jump starting a 3rd world economy. But boy would I be VERY VERY careful about the terms of those deals and exactly which multinationals I chose to work with. While they have a lot of skills, talents, and people to bring to the table the many of the multinationals are run by greedy sociopaths happy to make a quick killing in the 3rd world at the expense of the long term good of the 3rd world country in question. It would be a wise investment of some of those trillions in oil money to hire the most shark like lawyers in the world to be on MY side.

Why would people voluntarily go to serve a
ruler who has nuked his first population?

And then there are all the places that are
now too radioactive to be useful.

PHL

namelessfly wrote:Nuke the population then encourage immigration of skilled and educated people.

Yeah, i would focus on that among other storage ideas. I'd probably also encourage distributed small power stations and storage facilities as this would reduce the effect of a problem.

Desalination would also be a good priority, as it would allow me to increase arable area and help with encouraging westerners to emigrate, as well as increasing domestic food production over time, even if only by a bit, that bit would still help, especially with the fresh water now available to my people.

One final thing I'd probably do is do a turkey, and mandate a secular government, but acknowledge the islamic faith in such a way as to divert the extremists into less destructive opposition. Set up partnerships between the govt and islamic charities say, to help those less well off, and prioritise the more conservative areas for infrastructure and such first. The idea would be to not fight them, but to cause the youth to realise how much better the governments way of thinking is improving their lives as opposed to fighting it. remove the supply of recruits to the opposition and they will eventually wither away.

PeterZ wrote:

Spacekiwi wrote:snip

I too would invest in becoming a high tech research haven, to try and ensure that when people start buying oil replacement tech, im getting a cut of that. I wouldnt rely on oil forever, but have a succession plan to ensure money keeps coming in no matter what others do. snip

That means finding a way to store and distribute their abundant solar power. Sounds like research into hydrogen storage would be a priority. Desalination and hydrolysis of sea water using solar energy as a start and eventually fusion.

Of course that would be expensive and the sheiks would have to make their country more accommodating to those that would move there to research and apply research. That means keeping their rabid branch of wahhabists on a leash. That would be tough.

Without foreign investment or immigration turning Saudi Arabia into a research center is a tall order that will take generations. Possible but involving a serious amount of long term planning.