<Niall Ferguson: Oil could reach $200>
Niall Ferguson and Jared Diamond are my favorite "big picture" authors. When I read the Wall Street Journal, or Al Jazeera, I frequently find myself thinking, "Yes, they are doing today, exactly what the British Empire did in the 1800s, or exactly what the Easter Islanders did." Technology changes, but the human heart doesn't, so we see the same patterns, over and over in history.
Since we first invaded Afghanistan, I've considered it a utopian fantasy, this project to turn them (or Iraq, or Libya, or...) into a free-market democracy. Egyptians don't want democracy, they want jobs, and food and fuel at affordable prices. Mubarak lost power, not because he didn't allow freedom of expression, but because he didn't raise living standards. |
