Dubai - a brilliant article on what we all know

[WhipperSnapper]

Absolutely not.

Craig, I think we will have to talk a lot more, but honestly it that you have no idea of what free markets are, and why they are important. You believe you have moved past free-markets, by regulating markets, and you are wrong.

So, I guess it's possible you have read Adam Smith, but you didn't understand it.

What about Atlas Shrugged? Have you read Atlas Shrugged? Why not toss Atlas Shrugged in there as well, a more modern bible of laissez-faire capitalism and individual rights, while we're talking about Adam Smith?

I used to love Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand's Objectivist philosophy and I thought that laissez-faire capitalism was the way to go, too, until I acquired more first-hand knowledge of the real world and was forced to reexamine ideas I had naively and idealistically adopted in my youth (such as the insane notion that legitimate conflicts of interest do not exist among rational men). What I have since discovered is that while we might hope to have absolute freedom and unlimited resources as an ideal, that in reality resources exist in finite quantities, that humans are interdependent, that it is impossible to have true absolute freedom, and that in actuality real laissez-faire capitalism, while perhaps providing de jure (by law) freedom, would not maximize real (de facto) freedom but would instead decrease the amount of real freedom.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I visited Dubai for the first time last year after years of hearing friends and acquaintances singing it's praises. I never felt more out of place as a human being. Even without the horrible underbelly scars exposed by the OP's article, it's a place where only the mechanical aspect of life exists. Most of the other places I've visited make me want to go back; this is one place I'll probably never return to.

That said, I won't fault the ruler for his daring experiment. I think he was trying to emulate Singapore and would probably have succeeded were it not for it's unfortunate location on the edge of the desert.

Could you please elaborate a little bit more on your experiences? I know almost nothing about Dubai and would love to read more about what you experienced and observed. What do you mean by "only the mechanical aspect of life exists"? What did you dislike about it so much?

 

[StageLeft]

Could you please elaborate a little bit more on your experiences? I know almost nothing about Dubai and would love to read more about what you experienced and observed. What do you mean by "only the mechanical aspect of life exists"? What did you dislike about it so much?

Google gave me two threads at the top:

This first one is good, it quickly gets at one interesting issue: "Bear in mind that co-habiting is illegal, although many expats do." This means you cannot legally live with your girlfriend.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=599141

http://memsantiago.blogspot.com/2008/05/real-life-in-dubai.html

 

[WhipperSnapper]

How hard would it be for an American to find a good-paying job ($60,000 U.S.) in Dubai?

All of this talk about Dubai makes me wonder how difficult it would be for a college-educated American to find a decent job over there. Are lots of Americans seeking positions in Dubai?

 

[GroundedSailor]

How hard would it be for an American to find a good-paying job ($60,000 U.S.) in Dubai?

All of this talk about Dubai makes me wonder how difficult it would be for a college-educated American to find a decent job over there. Are lots of Americans seeking positions in Dubai?

In one word: No.

If you are Brit / European / Australian your chances improve quite a bit.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

In one word: No.

If you are Brit / European / Australian your chances improve quite a bit.

Are you saying that it's harder for an American to find a job in Dubai than it is for a European or Australian?

 

[GroundedSailor]

Are you saying that it's harder for an American to find a job in Dubai than it is for a European or Australian?

Yes. There used to be lots of Americans there a long time ago. Not any more. I've been to a few of bars in Dubai / AD which I was told used to be American hangouts in the years past, but not any more. And I'm talking 10-12 years ago. I don't see it has changed now.

There's a deep seated dislike for the way Americans have treated Arab nations in earlier years. Still persists.

 

[msafi]

I'm glad I stopped by here. A lot of interesting points made that I was not aware of. I have a friend that works in Dubai. She is from the Philippines. So is her husband and several of her friends and they all roomed together will employed there.

I have never heard her complain much, but she doesn't do domestic work either so I wouldn't expect her to get slapped in the face for making a mistake on a measurement or having an instance where she didn't live up to expectation for a particular design - she is an Architect. I am not sure if she has experienced some other form of prejudice though, such as being over worked, but I consider her pay to be lower than what it should be.

Anyway, I have heard a lot here and I think I will be asking her some questions so that I will find out even more from her 1st hand experience.

 

[Zorkorist]

Let us know what she says, msafi.

Most of us commenting on the thread have never been there.

-John