Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Wealthy Arabs arriving early in London

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Wealthy Arabs arriving early in London

Click here to access article by Carina Kame from Al Arabiya.

It seems that the rich from the MENA countries are hedging their bets on the likelihood that they can maintain the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed after the uprisings in their respective countries are finally resolved. They are buying property in London, often "sight unseen".

Well, it is not really surprising. The rich from these countries owe a debt of gratitude to their Western protectors who have engineered so much of the political developments in their respective countries during the past 100 years. When "push comes to shove", they know who their friends and supporters really are. These rich formed on the wounds of their countries like a scab after the British imperialists inflicted the wounds. Now that their countries are starting to heal, the citizens will likely not tolerate them.