Notes from the UAE

Samuel Hammond · 18 Dec 2025 · secondbest.ca ↗

3 korrents from this piece

Samuel Hammond did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
Oil-rich Gulf monarchies are effectively post-scarcity societies, with institutions adapted to match that condition.

Their wordsoil-rich Gulf monarchies are the closest thing to post-scarcity societies on earth today, with the institutional adaptions to match
Our reading
Different forms of government map closely onto different corporate governance structures because both arise from the same transaction-cost logic.

Their wordsThere is a close mapping between government ideal types and corporate governance structures given their shared origins in transaction costs.
Our reading
The UAE's pursuit of AI and technology reflects a deeper cultural and political affinity with the West rather than with China.

Their wordsthe UAE's tech aspirations are clearly downstream of a deeper affinity with the West.