Where does our oil come from? Does it matter? Leif Wenar, author of the recent book Blood Oil, argues that Western democracies are compromising themselves by buying either directly or indirectly from vicious tyrants.
This is philosophy bites with me, Nigel.
Warburton and me, David Edmonds.
Philosophy bites is unfunded.
Please help us keep it going by subscribing or donating at www.philosophybytes.com, or you can become a patron at Patreon.
The ruling royal family in Saudi Arabia is immensely wealthy, mainly because the state has vast reserves of oil.
But who actually owns this oil?
Saudi Arabia is not a democracy.
Should we be buying oil off the Saudis while it's still run by the house of?
Saud?
Leifwin R of King's College London, doesn't think so.
Leif Winar, welcome to philosophy bites.
Thanks very much.
The topic we're going to focus on is trade and tyranny.
Could you just explain what connects those two?
You might not think of it, but when we do our everyday shopping, we may be putting money into the pockets of some of the most merciless men in the world.
When we buy gas or newspapers, house paint or nail polish, game stations or cell phones, the money we spend may be going back to fund tyranny and.
And violence in some of the most wretched places in the world.
So presumably that's not just on an individual level.
We're talking also about governments buying resources on a larger scale, too.
That's right.