In response to Paul T Horgan: The Left’s answer to the evils of Venezuela? Complain about Saudi instead,

N KS wrote:

Venezuela and Saudi Arabia do make an interesting comparison, primarily because the social and political order of a communist regime is often closest to either tribalism or absolute monarchy. There is the same concentration of power in centralised authority, the same feudal ability to seize and gift property, the same lack of checks and balances.

Here’s a fascinating paper by MIT academics on the reasons for continued poverty in Africa that neatly parallels medieval European economic stagnation with current difficulties in Africa.