Hey, I hope this is the right community to ask this:

Do you have good leftists literature on the resource curse especially with respect to imperialism? I have to write a paper on it as part of a compulsory subject for my university and I only found the typical capitalist analysis.

  • anotherone [none/use name]
    ·
    1 year ago

    From good ol Wikipedia for everyone:

    The resource curse, also known as the paradox of plenty or the poverty paradox, is the phenomenon of countries with an abundance of natural resources (such as fossil fuels and certain minerals) having less economic growth, less democracy, or worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources

    Jesus fucking Christ. This sounds like a theory that just absolutely and completely ignores any of human history or any form of material analysis.

    "Resource rich countries are often poorer, worse off and less developed than countries which rely on a non-resource based economy, such as finance and services. The reasons behind this are a conundrum to all."

    Are you FUCKING kidding me? Holy shit, read literally anything about the history of imperialism, colonialism, banana republics... just a fucking history book in general.

    I am actually fucking triggered to even learn about this stupid ass concept.

    Their countries are in shambles because you motherfuckers showed up and bombed and killed and raped and pillaged and tortured everyone so you could TAKE THEIR SHIT! You installed puppet governments and murderous dictators who would agree to do your bidding and sell out their countries in exchange for solely personal wealth, not caring what would happen to everyone else.

    GOD DAMN. Where do you go to college, the School of the fucking Americas?

    • Bjork_shhh [none/use name]
      ·
      1 year ago

      the Talk page:

      This article warranted a mention of Fareed Zakaria (as it should), but I think a mention of Tom Friedman might belong as well

      Just FYI: Ross Douthat, a columnist for the New York Times, just linked to the article

      Wikipedia is a PMC brainlet hive

      Content from China in Africa

      ...

      This segment seems very biased to me, as it mentions Iraq’s invasion of Iran and Kuwait, Libya’s repeated incursions into Chad in the 1970s and 1980s, "Iran’s long-standing pattern of hostility and conflict" (Which pattern exactly? Are those whom it is hostile against not hostile to it?); Venezuela’s mobilization for war against Colombia in 2008 (didn't the Colombian government do a great deal to provoke that?). However, it fails to mention the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003

      Curious that the CIA adjacent radlibs who edit this propaganda make no mention of the the nazi collaborating empire's imperialist genocides since WWII

    • TraschcanOfIdeology [they/them, comrade/them]
      ·
      1 year ago

      I was typing this long-ass response about how the "resource curse" was just another way for liberal economists to say "why aren't brown people more like europeans" using mental gymnastics and pure ideology zizek-ok, but your post did a better job of taking it down, so yea.

    • feelinggay [comrade/them]
      ·
      1 year ago

      That's exactly how I feel. My brain hurt after I did some reading on it. And no, it was just a "normal" :brainworms: economics class for an engineering degree.