Petropolitics and how it runs the World

This is a huge topic. The term was coined by Thomas L. Friedman (my favourite Journalist of all time). Friedman is a New York Times Columnist. Even though the Times is a Liberal or left leaning newspaper, he is very good at being fair unlike Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd who would bash Bush if the Middle East becomes an instant well of democracy tomorrow. I like their heart but they are too much. With Friedman you get the articulation of pragmatism mixed with our ideals not one over the other. I dunno, check him out he is really good along with David Brooke (Moderate Conservative). But anyways, back to the topic at hand. Here is what Petropolitics discuss in a nutshell....If a country has oil there are two ways things can go for them. If Oil is in demand and thus the price is high, it is directly related to the liberty and evolution of the country that has the oil. However if oil prices are lower the governments usually yield to pressure and increase liberty in their respective country. Friedman wrote an incredible paper in the magazine Foreign Policy (May/June 2006 Foreignpolicy.com) showing diagrams to prove his point. The reason for this is simply because when a country (Pick any from the Middle East) other governments want that oil for their own economies and consumers. So Western and "Civilized" governments will turn a blind eye to all the vicious acts of the corrupt regime that has the oil so that it won't rock the boat with them and risk not getting that oil. Secondly, the corrupt regime makes an incredible amount of money off the oil which helps them do one of the following (sometimes both simultaneously):

1: Increase the police force, army, and most importantly the secret police to make sure the country is held in check and all the frustrations from the populous will not spill over into a rebellion against the regime. (Done by all of them, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Russia, Pre-Invasion Iraq, to a lesser extent Venezuela)

2: Pay off the citizens. (Done by the Gulf regimes such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia) This is done by just pouring money for goods that people want and giving people whatever they need as long as its not political freedom. Its sorta like offering your dog the best food, best stuffed toys, a big plasma TV, and whatever else dogs want but as long as the dog remains in the cage. Al Saoud family in Saudi Arabia for example builds incredible highways, build great hospitals, staff it with the best doctors from the Middle East, anyone who wants to get schooling can get sponsored incredibly easy, but when it comes down to actual freedom its not there. Some people argue that "well who cares, as long as the people are getting what they need, whats the problem?" I am not even gonna discuss the fact that the oil will eventually run out (sooner than people think) I will argue as if the oil will not stop flowing. The problem lies in the fact that the society does not improve. Without political and economic freedom, societies decay and so do cultures eventually. Its like a millionaire not bothering to teach his kids to read or write since they won't need to work to survive. It is technically correct however its terrible for the morale of the people and it does not provide a new step towards improvement. Anyways, its a huge topic. Here is today's article by Friedman. Click Here.