tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077210.post113493152099827041..comments2024-03-28T08:37:58.136+01:00Comments on Limited, Inc.: between the devil's capitalism and God's own countryRoger Gathmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11257400843748041639noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077210.post-1135228978921356062005-12-22T06:22:00.000+01:002005-12-22T06:22:00.000+01:00I wish them well, also. There is something that h...I wish them well, also. There is something that has always fascinated me about Andean culture. In 6th Grade, I made a giant clay model of an Inca city (I was a BIGGGGGG NERD :) It would be nice to see a different model than Neoliberalism develop-perhaps without the demagogic politics and scary element of the Chavez regime? <BR/><BR/>If there is a modium of social peace, I would love to see La Paz and Sucre (and Lake Titicaca) And hear some of that amazing music.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077210.post-1135199301611324022005-12-21T22:08:00.000+01:002005-12-21T22:08:00.000+01:00Poverty in Bolivia, I think, has a social cause, a...Poverty in Bolivia, I think, has a social cause, and also has a social, or various social, solutions. There is a peculiar curse that comes with being endowed with a high demand raw material like oil or natural gas. The exporter country can get wealthy -- but not being wealthy, does not have the preliminary social structure to maintain such a neutral control over the resource as to contribute to the overall benefit of the country's inhabitants. Where the chance of wealth is high, the amount spent on human capital (education, health, environment) is low, the risk of seeing that wealth evaporate -- expropriated by first world investors and a small native elite -- is high. <BR/><BR/>Now, to my mind, this story has been going on for long enough that we have different models, and some of them are good models. The Gulf states with low populations still have managed to spread some of the wealth around - the higher the population, though, as in Saudi Arabia, the higher the inequality. And there is Norway's famous example. All of which means that a Bolivian government that was serious about using its resources to bring the countries masses out of poverty should not bring to that task a particular theory so much as an empirical curiosity. I am sure that if Morales wants to consult with the Norwegians on this, or the Kuwaitis, or the Omanis, they will oblige. As well as, of course, the Venezualans. <BR/><BR/>The first step, however, is not to pitch your rhetoric so that you piss off the Americans right away. The second step should be sending feelers to booming markets, like China and India, who are definitely looking for the product. The hardest step -- vide Venezuela -- is to keep a small latifundia-based elite from capturing the revenues, in alliance with the various corporations. <BR/><BR/>That is, admittedly, a giant task.Roger Gathmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11257400843748041639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077210.post-1135190650455395802005-12-21T19:44:00.000+01:002005-12-21T19:44:00.000+01:00But, as with Brazil, is the Bolivian electorate un...But, as with Brazil, is the Bolivian electorate unrealistic in its expectations? ""GIVE" us good jobs" is the cry. How, and who? Can Bolivia be anything but dirt poor?<BR/><BR/>Maybe he will be a Chavez-style populist leader who channels natural gas revenues to social programs, while it lasts. Long term, though, Bolivia will remain poor?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com