Comments by "Persona" (@ArawnOfAnnwn) on "Dubai's Amazing Feat: Unveiling Wealth and Prosperity Beyond Oil" video.

  1. At the beginning of the video I said it was 'catering to rich people', and I'm gonna say I was half-right. I didn't think of their extensive port investments, but most everything else falls under the umbrella of what I meant. They're not as decadent as, say, Monaco, but it's the same basic idea - make your country a paradise for individuals and companies with tons of money. Personally I'd rather nations develop by actually making shit and doing stuff of general utility, but I can't deny that facilitating billionaires works for these places. As regards entrepreneurs, I'm fairly certain very little of the entrepreneurship in Dubai corresponds to the romantic image of an entrepreneur starting a company in a garage with very little money. Most new enterprises will be multinationals expanding their footprint, or extremely rich people breaking off from said multinationals and starting supporting firms with their plentiful wealth, which they can even afford to fail and still be extremely rich after. Dubai may be a rags to riches story as a city, but it didn't get that way by encouraging rags to riches businessmen, but by encouraging the global elite.
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  2. Of course it is. Dubai got the way it is making itself a paradise for the elite. Gated communities are very much in line with that. The elite often live in gated communities in other nations too, so they're quite comfortable with it in Dubai, or even outright prefer it.
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  3. You can't live there anyway. It's not meant for everyday yokels. If you're the type of millionaire they cater to, there's plenty of places where you can get alcohol. Just not at your corner store. It's the kinds of places with a steep entrance fee, or required room booking.
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