Oracling over oil

In the north of Africa is a country called Algeria.
33 million people live there.
They export oil.
They make no products themselves they can export.

East of Algeria is Libya.
6 million people there.
They export oil.
But like Algeria, no products they make themselves they can export.

Further east is Egypt.
75 million inhabitants.
The country exports oil.
No export-products they make themselves.

In the Middle East is Saudi Arabia.
25 million people.
Exporting oil.
No products for export they are able to make.

North of these countries, in Europe, we have Belgium.
11 million Belgians living there.
Exporting among others machinery and equipment, chemicals, finished diamonds, metals and metal products, beer and foodstuffs like chocolate.

In France 65 million people are living.
10 million less than in Egypt.
But they are exporting a wide range of products like wine and other alcoholic beverages, aircrafts and aircraft parts, agricultural products, weapons, cheese, cars, trucks and nuclear power plants.

In Denmark 6 million people are living.
Like in Libya.
Denmark exports pigs, bacon, cheese, butter, windmills, ships and Lego.

Why is one country able to produce all kinds of goods that can be exported and another country unable to produce any goods for export?

The countries that are mentioned here and are unable to export make their money selling what they find underneath their land: oil.
With the revenues they import whatever they need.
Why bother making a car if you have the money to buy one?

But we may ask ourselves what this attitude is doing to the minds of those people.
If a country has no oil to export, it must come up with other ways to have money come in.
It inspires the people and challenges them to have the best come out of them.
But if foreign oil companies come to an oil rich country and extract the oil in exchange for tons of money, the people living there become inept.

It is explained in a more simple way by understanding that in Switzerland they know how to make a watch and in Saudi Arabia they don't.

Eventually the oil reserves will run out.
For example, in 63 years Libya will have pumped up all the oil that they have.
Meanwhile, the world will turn more and more to alternative sources of energy.
Every windmill installed is a step bringing the oil price down.

In less than a century the money now going to oil producing countries will dramatically decrease.
And then what?
How are they going to know what time it is?
To buy a watch will be too expensive for them.
While they are unable to make one themselves.
Remembering how much we pay for one gallon of gasoline now, will we care?



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