"Like Saudi Arabia, the United States is an indispensable nation — whether for defense, energy or investment.
The Trumpist project is not about “Making America Great Again” in any traditional sense; rather, it is about reshaping America at least in part in the image of a modern petrostate — one that leverages energy wealth, luxury development and financial capital to exert influence on the global stage.
The future of this model of political economy is in flux. Saudi Arabia has begun work on flamboyant megaprojects like a golden cube in Riyadh large enough to hold the Empire State Building and a would-be city in the desert comprising two continuous 100-mile-long mirrored skyscrapers. But oil prices need to stay high for the kingdom’s checks to clear — and the costs are not only monetary. ITV reported that data suggest over 21,000 workers have died since Vision 2030 began in 2016. The shimmering sci-fi city of the promotional videos and prospectuses has so far yielded only a single unfinished seaside resort three times over budget, for a total cost of $4 billion. The techno kingdom’s future vision looks ever more like what The Wall Street Journal called a “dance of mutual delusion” with consultants and starchitects dazzling the monarch just enough to keep extending their contracts.
Mr. Trump’s “everything everywhere all at once” strategy of deregulation and extraction, combined with inflated promises and incoherent trade policy, suggests a similar sense that time is of the essence — and could work against him."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/opinion/trump-saudi-arabia-america.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4E4.Y3R0.uUnpi3aDpJ3p&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
#USA #Trump #SaudiArabia #PetroState
The Trumpist project is not about “Making America Great Again” in any traditional sense; rather, it is about reshaping America at least in part in the image of a modern petrostate — one that leverages energy wealth, luxury development and financial capital to exert influence on the global stage.
The future of this model of political economy is in flux. Saudi Arabia has begun work on flamboyant megaprojects like a golden cube in Riyadh large enough to hold the Empire State Building and a would-be city in the desert comprising two continuous 100-mile-long mirrored skyscrapers. But oil prices need to stay high for the kingdom’s checks to clear — and the costs are not only monetary. ITV reported that data suggest over 21,000 workers have died since Vision 2030 began in 2016. The shimmering sci-fi city of the promotional videos and prospectuses has so far yielded only a single unfinished seaside resort three times over budget, for a total cost of $4 billion. The techno kingdom’s future vision looks ever more like what The Wall Street Journal called a “dance of mutual delusion” with consultants and starchitects dazzling the monarch just enough to keep extending their contracts.
Mr. Trump’s “everything everywhere all at once” strategy of deregulation and extraction, combined with inflated promises and incoherent trade policy, suggests a similar sense that time is of the essence — and could work against him."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/opinion/trump-saudi-arabia-america.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4E4.Y3R0.uUnpi3aDpJ3p&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
#USA #Trump #SaudiArabia #PetroState
