The Resource Curse: Making the poor even poorer

          The resource curse that has plagued developing countries throughout history is a constant threat whenever valuable resources are found. Many authors, such as Michael Ross, argue that the curse itself stems as a result of irresponsible governments and poor financial decisions. While these are true, they point to a bigger issue that seems to be at the heart of the resource curse. These countries that experience financial and political collapse as a result of discovering valuable resources always classified as “developing.” Rarely is there a scenario in which an independent, developed nation discovers a substance of value and the results are devastating. Usually, the opposite happens, and the economy flourishes.  

            The issue, therefore, is that valuable substances are a curse that make poor nations even poorer. Like Africa has seen time after time, with rubber, oil, gold, and diamonds, an unstable or nonexistent government cannot be an effective actor. The combination of valuable resources and unstable governments is something that begs for a solution, but unfortunately, a solution is not likely to arrive. The natural resources that are found in a nation are the sole property of that nation. Therefore, we cannot simply take away the natural resources of these nations to avoid economic trouble. As for telling other governments how to function and use the natural resources, that can only work as far as they are willing to take the advice of others. More often than not, the leaders of a developing nation will exploit all the resources for their own benefit until the resource runs dry, the economy collapses, or both. It is impossible for an international agency or entity to plan for the discovery of a valuable resource, therefore we cannot simply expect an issue and deal with it accordingly.

            The best approach to resolving, or at least remedying this issue is through a series of long term actions that would hopefully allow these developing nations to make intelligent decisions that will benefit that common people which, in turn, will benefit the governments. First, there should be international advisors to nations struggling with resource management. If a nation is on the verge of collapse, or even on the verge on discovering and exploiting a resource, someone should be there to act as a sort of financial advisor. Educating these developing nations is the first step towards a solution.

         The next remedy solution, which is essentially an ultimate solution for any nation, is to promote democracy in the region, hopefully sparking the movement towards more democratic nations. Mitchell’s Carbon Democracy hits the nail on the head with describing the only legitimate solution to ending the tragedy that befalls on poor nations that stumble upon sudden wealth. With such a divide between developed and developing nations, there are really only two options for what can occur as a result of such a discovery: economic success or civil war. It is ultimately a choice that must be made by the developing nations themselves. They can either ignore the signs from the past and take advantage of an opportunity, or they can exploit their land and devastate their country.