To me (and fellow geeks like me), the economic truth Blood Diamond and Syriana illustrate are as fascinating as the movies themselves.
Resource based economies tend to breed truly horrible social and political systems. Because to get rich and powerful in resource economies, all one needs to do is control the resource in question. The tycoon/ mogul/ sheikh/ oligarch who owns the oil well is the boss. The rest of society is all about getting on the gravy train that this tycoon/ mogul/ sheikh/ oligarch maintains. There is no reason (or room) to create or cooperate.
This is often phrased as "why is Bihar the poorest state in India despite it's wealth of natural resources?" This question is almost precisely invested. The real question is "how to save Bihar from it's wealth of natural resources?".
It's a hard question. One thing we do know is that nationalizing the resources does not work. Just look at Bihar or Putin's Russia for proof.
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