MBS: A volatile millennial wields absolute power in Saudi Arabia | Hacker News Reader

MBS: A volatile millennial wields absolute power in Saudi Arabia

economist.com

37 pointsGeekette22 comments

Goddamn millenials ruining everything.

But seriously, I find it amusing, as a younger millenial, that someone how that's a relevant quality to this particular Saudi royal. Like between myself and MBS in terms of growing up, wealth, power and a bunch of other things is so absolutely different, but it's good to know the generation he belongs to I guess.

https://archive.ph/VMKCA

I agree that generation isn't especially relevant here, but I do think the flip side is an interesting concern that we rarely talk about.

Biden and about 1/4 of the senate are of "the silent generation", before the boomers. Almost half of senators are over 70, which is a mandatory retirement age for various kinds of judges in several states. Around 2/3 are older than 65, the age at which the Foreign Service has its staff retire. Yes, a volatile monarch is concerning. But isn't a senator battling senility also dangerous?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_retirement#Professio...

He isn't a volatile monarch. The western media likes to exaggerate everything that comes out of the GCC Arab Regions. Tiny past issues are irrelevant. The pandemic changed a lot of the mindset in the middle east. Saudi Arabia nowadays has good relations with 99% of all nations including Russia and China. There's currently peace talks happening with Iran mediated by Iraq. Qatar and Turkey are at peace with KSA too. Yemen's original government is at peace with KSA too. After the pandemic, Saudi Arabia is moving on focusing more on the future of its Saudi citizens and development of its country including signing good beneficial trade deals in manufacturing, science, tourism etc.

Joe Biden is irrelevant in the Middle East. Presidents come and go every 4 or 8 years. Kings stay for more than 50 years. None of the GCC countries really give a damn about Biden. There are so many Saturday Night Live sketches making fun of Biden's dementia and decision making. Joe Biden thought he could bully KSA around, but on the contrary he was disrespected so much when he came to KSA recently. The United States needs to focus on the welfare and future of its citizens. Millions living in poverty, while Biden is giving billions to Ukraine for war. Millions in the USA having to worry about student loans, housing, food etc, while Biden focuses on wasting it on useless matters. The United States is world's largest and richest economy, but many of its citizens live in poverty, despair worrying about healthcare, education, security etc.

The US isn't as oil rich as Saudia Arabia and has more than 10x the population, and far more diversity. So while I'm sure there are some good things the USA could learn from KSA I don't think money and monarchies would be as effective. (Though I'd like to see less spent on defense boondoggles and more on social safety nets.) Now certainly the KSA has much to learn about tolerating dissent, nepotism in government, and freedom of the press.

> Tiny past issues

tiny because chopped up to pieces and "videotaped to prove the mission had been accomplished and the tape was taken out of the country"?

Oh, extremely. < 17% of the country is 65 years and older, and yet their interests represent a supermajority in Congress. It's one reason why climate change isn't being addressed; control is held by people who will be dead by then. For anyone younger it has to be a bit more nuanced, but at that age it's literally "I will barely experience the downsides".

Millennial is irrelevant. Unlike his siblings, MBS did not study abroad. He was not exposed to Western influences as much. His generation is that of the Saudi baby boom, kids born when the oil wealth lifted the Malthusian trap and population doubled almost overnight, then again. If anything he has the Boomer-like sense of entitlement of his generation, and unlike his cohorts, his whims will actually be catered to.

I will take a "volative" millennial over a senile boomer.

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