Artistic inheritance does not cause excessive centralized powers, as too often natural resources do...though intellectual inheritance could

Sir, Janan Ganesh discussing the possible effect on Europe of its “intellectual and artistic inheritance” refers to the natural“resource curse” in terms of retarding development, as “The temptation is to coast on the proceeds from the natural assets.” Clive James and Europe’s culture curse” November 29,

Indeed, that could play a role but the by far worst part or the “resource curse”, is the fact that its revenues are way too often way too much centralized in way too few hands. 

Take my homeland Venezuela. Had its (geographical) liberator Simon Bolivar not accepted to impose in Venezuela in 1829 Spain’s mining ordinances, which deemed all natural resources under earth to be the property of the King/state, our destiny would have been quite different. As is, as someone from another oil cursed nation mentioned to me years ago, “we do not live in a nation, we live in somebody else’s business”, the redistribution profiteers’.

And this does not apply to the artistic inheritance’s culture curse. The Museum of Louvre might centralize a lot of cultural treasures, but it does not remotely benefit as much from it, as do the citizens of Paris.

Of course, when it comes to an “intellectual culture curse”, which could result from handing over too much influence to too few intellectuals, like to Ph.D.’s and opinion makers, that can contain all the inheritance in a silo, in a mutual admiration club, all bets are off, in Europe and everywhere.

https://theoilcurse.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-last-thing-venezuela-needs-is-to.html

@PerKurowski

Sadly Bolivar did not free Venezuela from its natural resource curse

Sir, Gideon Long writes about the immense significance Simon Bolívar has for all Venezuelans. “Bitter enemies invoke spirit of Bolívar as vote looms” July 27.

As a Venezuelan I can only agree with most of it but, unfortunately, in October of 1829, Bolivar ordered the continuance of what had been decreed in 1783 by Carlos III of Spain, namely that all precious metals and “juices of the earth” reserves belonged to the Republic.

With that Bolivar guaranteed the Venezuelan governments would not depend exclusively on the citizens and that, sooner or later, some would capture the government to steal it blind.

If we Venezuelans are to gain real independence all our net oil revenues have to be shared out entirely to the citizens.

Had that been achieved earlier, the current disaster would not have had a chance to happen.

It is a great tragedy that freeing Venezuela from the curse of centralized oil revenues is still not on the agenda of anyone the most important opposition leaders.

@PerKurowski