Economics Before Politics

I don’t write a lot about Israel here, it’s just too divisive an issue, and frankly, people are childish and have a hard time reading the words on the page instead of what they want to think they read.  Going further, people have a hard time finding that anyone coming from a religious, cultural, or just blood background on either side could have a worth while thing to say in an objective manner.  So I stay away from the subject save for a few historical references.

But being a student of economics and political science (you are always a student as long as you are interested in learning, not in the sense of school), I always love reading about the petri dish that is the Middle East.  There is so much going on there in terms of the diverse nature of economies in the region, political maneuvering, cultural biases, and how they all interact.

Tom Friedman, one of my favorite writers of all time, penned a great piece yesterday on the Palestine Security Exchange.  Yes, you read that correctly, the Palestine Security Exchange.  Go read the article and then come back.

One of my favorite theories which connects economics and politics is the order of operations between the two.  It is my belief that in almost every case of development around the world, economics has led politics.  And right now, we are seeing the same happen in the West Bank.  At the end of the day, no matter who you are on earth, no matter how religious, no matter your deep seeded hatreds or biases, you just want a better life for you and your kids (I’m talking on the margin, there are some crazy people out there on the fringes).  People want a better life, and that doesn’t happen through being a religious fanatic, or hating someone else, it happens by working hard and being innovative.  It makes me smile to see a group of technocrat Palestinians latch on to this idea, the belief that if they lay the groundwork economically to have a real state, that some day they may get one because of it.

We’ve seen this happen before all over the world.  It’s much easier to declare independence if you have a robust economy to stand behind, along with something to hold hostage from the person or country who controls you.  Just look at Taiwan, for all intents and purposes is now its own state.  Why, because they built their economy to the point where China can not risk disputing trade between the island and the mainland, it would set them so far back economically to wage that war that it’s just not worth what would be gained (I never quite understood what would be gained, they’ve been independent in reality for so long, it’s not like other separatist groups are going to use them as an example).

A certain faction of Palestinians now understand that the path to their independence is through economics, not religion or violence.  Money makes the world go round people.

Full Disclosure: Nothing on this site should ever be considered to be advice, research or an invitation to buy or sell any securities, please see the Disclaimer page for a full disclaimer.


blog comments powered by Disqus