Resource curse
noun phrase
The pattern in which countries rich in resources such as oil or diamonds can become less democratic, less stable or less responsive because power no longer depends on citizens’ productive participation.
Also known as paradox of plenty
The resource curse is the pattern in which great natural wealth can leave a country’s people with less power rather than more.
Oil and diamonds bring money straight out of the ground. A state that can fund itself without relying as heavily on citizens’ work or taxes has less practical reason to listen to them. The resource becomes valuable; the people become optional in the arithmetic.
*Human Still Wins* uses the pattern to explain the intelligence curse. If machine intelligence begins producing more of the value, the ownership question becomes larger than who uses the best tool. It becomes who owns the source, who receives the return and who no longer needs to be consulted.
Where it comes up in the sources
Works in the library that use this word. Matched on the word itself, so it is a starting point rather than a reading list.