[ExI] How slow is capitalism?

[Jones Murphy]

The aggregate wealth in oil-rich Libya is much smaller than that of,
for example, tiny Singapore, which has a smaller population and no
oil. What you are saying is just completely false, about Gaddafi
building up real wealth in Libya. Poverty and frustration are big
motivators for the violent opposition which has exploded against
Gaddafi and similar dictators across the Arab world. Western
politicians certainly can be extremely corrupt, e.g. Italy's
Berlusconi. Yet despite being exceptionally corrupt compared to most
Western leaders, Berlusconi owns a far smaller proportion of his
country's wealth than Gaddafi does and is in continuous danger of
criminal prosecution. The only thing which has saved Berlusconi from
prison is the racism of Italian voters, who support his repetition of
Fascist harassment of Gypsies and so on. So how do you get to the
conclusion that Western politicians are never satisfied with their
personal greed?

On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 1:02 AM, Mirco Romanato <painlord2k at libero.it> wrote:
> Il 28/04/2011 13:48, Jones Murphy ha scritto:
>> Why do you like Gaddafi so much? The general level of human
>> development in Libya is miserable compared to resource-poor smaller
>> countries such as Singapore, Bermuda, etc.
>>
>> If you accumulate wealth in a small cabin in Montana or in Eastern
>> Congo, Somalia, rural Afghanistan, etc, no government will detect you.
>> You will be safe, able to write your manifesto. You may however have a
>> small problem with criminally inclined private individuals.
>
> The point is, Gaddafi considering Lybia his personal property (and
> hoping to pass it to his sons) have saved money for the rainy days. real
> money, not paper money.
> Politicians in the West have not these incentives, so they usually
> exploit the coffer of the government for their personal gain or their
> petty projects.
>
> Robber Barons (see Gaddafi) could sleep satisfied sometimes, but the
> busybodies (see our politicians and various political activists) will
> never be satisfied.
>
> Mirco
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