The Famed Oil Curse

Oil is commonly thought to be not at all a real blessing but a disaster in disguise It is in fact a stolen prosperity,un-earned and unnatural gift we have acquired by virtue of living above oil soaked soil of our country. Now, one can say that if God has given country a blessing it should be appreciated. But what this blessing should become first and foremost - it should be an opportunity, an opportunity that is not wasted. Unfortunately this is what commonly happens, when the curse of un-earned cash descends upon the people. Incomes are wasted precisely because they are easily acquired.

Easy money is hard to resist for economies, as well as people. Natural resources offer such easy money, without creating what one would call a balanced, economy. There is much debate and discussion on how to overcome so called “Dutch Disease” and how to stabilise and "diversify" the economy. But without a responsible and just social order, all of the economic attempts to do "the right thing" will be doomed to failure. Temptations are stronger than people, and much stronger than the collective will of the people resisting the temptation to get rich quickly.