Dear Andrei,
the matter is we have different notions of exploitation. For you:
1) A exploits B if A gains more in unequal exchange with B than B does.
For me (following here S.Sanderson) new options should be added: namely
2) some kind of coercion
(military, political, ideological, economic) of A over B (including special
depriving of resources previously attainable by B: f.e.depriving peasants
of their land during industrialization, see Marx), and
3) incapability of B to avoid these relations with A.
By these additional criteria the advantages of U.A.Emirates in oil trade
over US do not mean exploitation (no coercion, no special depriving of
previous resources, existing of capability of US to cease relations).
How can be qualified this exchange?
Just as successful use by SEMIperipheral country of its natural monopoly
over its natural resources, highly needed by rich core states (which
became fortunately free of previous long-live tradition of grasping such
needed resources by military invasion!).
If in pre-Muslim times S. Arabia in its profitable spices trade was
defended only geographically by the barrier
of desert, now these countries are defended by real moral progress in world
politics (I foresee here a storm of left protests, but tell me please what
besides new moral norms stops the West or 5 nuclear countries to invade and
divide for colonies all Arabian oil territories?).
Trying to be more clear: in which case we would reveal exploitation
in this situation? Only if we see the following events (just imagine!):
United Arabian Emirates (UAE) managed to grasp monopoly over almost all oil
resources in the world, including S.Arabian, Kuweitian, Iranian,
Iraquian, Siberian, Kaspian, American oil, etc. (depriving and coercion),
UAE managed to grasp military-political hegemony for defending this oil
monopoly and dictating high monopolical prices (incapability of all others to
avoid or change these relations).
Only in this case nobody who needs oil would avoid this unequal exchange
and everybody who buy oil would be really exploited.
Isn't it sufficiently evident now?
Thank you,
best regards, yours Nikolai
> From: "Korotaev A." <andrei@rsuh.ru>
> If this is really such a nonsense, why then the United Arab Emirates
> have per capita income higher than the USA? Dear Nukolay, do you
> really believe that this is actually due to the fact that the
> industrious population of the UAE work harder and more productive
> than the population of the USA? Why are the WS theorists so ready to
> accept everywhere (mostly alleged) exploitation of the periphery by
> the core, whereas being so reluctant to notice quite real facts of
> the exploitation of the core by the periphery?!
> Yours Andrey (Moscow, Russia).
>