United Arab Emirates

Dictatorship meets hypercapitalism

The population the Emirates has doubled again to 10M since the last time I was there in 2013. There  are now more Ferraris and Rolls Royces barreling down Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road than ever. Zero income tax and low import duties make these luxuries ever more affordable for the country’s  liesure class. It seems that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s plan to translate oil wealth into a world class destination for luxury,  business, and investment is bearing fruit as only a dictatorship can. Unfettered by political opposition (dissidents are fined or imprisoned), he has been free to build as fast (or faster?) than anyone else on earth, all while having 26 children, a $500M yacht, a vast horse racing empire, and amassing $14B in personal wealth in just a few decades. 

It was not always this way. Prior to the discovery of oil in the late 1950’s, Dubai was a pearl diving community of 20,000  people, surrounded by sand dunes. Sheikh Mohammed grew up in a home without reliable electricity, on a very limited network of roads. His family had slaves which, I was shocked to learn, was still  common in the Emirates only a few decades ago. Slavery was officially abolished in Dubai 1963, but many would argue that the Sheikh’s vision for Dubai has been built (at least in part) with modern slave labor. Roughly 85% of Dubai’s population are immigrants, with the majority working exceptionally challenging and risky jobs in various forms of manual labor. Many come and stay of their own volition. Many do not. 

Rio and Luca  kept a running list of the origins of the people we met from the service industry. They were Kenyan, Indian, Pakistani, Ugandan, Sri Lankan, Moldovan, Filipino, Thai, Lebanese, Syrian, and many we could not identify. When immigrants outnumber citizens 9 to 1, what kind of culture emerges? Most immigrants aren’t likely to learn Arabic. It’s the minority language and hardly present on the street. They don’t share common music, food, or religion. The one thing they all share is that everyone is in Dubai to make or spend money. 

The Culture Creators

While UAE makes efforts to infuse Islam into local culture, it would seem they have also left large portions of culture up to foreign brands and shopping malls. I heard the call to prayer in the Apple Store in the largest shopping mall in the world, but no one seemed to take much notice. Customers still window-shopped the Cartier, Maybach, and Hublot stores. Hungry mouths consumed their McDonalds, Tim Hortons, and Jollibee in the food court without pausing to pray. The song of foreign brands, it seemed, was more compelling than that of the muezzin. 

The next day when we visited Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, I was in awe of its extraordinary architecture and size. It can hold 45,000 worshippers, making it one of the largest in the world.  It boasts all sorts of superlatives: the world’s largest chandeliers, largest handmade prayer rugs, and finest Italian marble inlays. Equally amazing to me was that segments of this spectacular house of worship were built on top of a shopping mall. Papa John’s and Cinnabon literally form part of its foundation.  Capitalism is shaping the Emirates in profound ways. The profit motive both complements Emirati culture and, occasionally, overshadows it. 

Refuge for Russians

Since the invasion of Ukraine, ultra-wealthy Russians have faced sanctions and asset seizures on their properties in London, Paris and other urban centers around the world.  One place this has not happened? The UAE. Dubai real estate sales are currently hotter than they have been for years, and most attribute this to Russian investment, as businessmen in Dubai welcome dollars to Dubai regardless of their origin. Strolling about  upscale area of Jumeirah, Lamborhini SUVs rolled up to the valet parking in front of restaurants offering $100USD hamburgers. Signs and menus were written in Russian, and shopping malls were dotted with so many women of such barbie-like figures that Abby’s friend referred to it as Dubai’s “Silicone Valley.” 

Looking around the malls filled with $700 swim trunks and diamond studded fountain pens, I thought of the apex shoppers here like apex predators, gobbling up the most refined products of their ecosystem. Unlike apex predators, however, there seems little to keep this ecosystem stable or even rooted in Dubai. It is Dubai’s willingness to bend to the needs of capitalism that keeps these consumers here, even as capitalism erodes or at least reshapes the influence of local culture. If the current trends continue, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before the Emirati culture has faded, and simultaneously the consumers, corporations, and money move onward to an even more exaggerated bastion of hyper capitalism. A century from  now, when all the products from the shopping malls are in landfills, and the oil money has (hopefully?) long since dried up, what will remain? Is it possible we’ll look back at the Sheikh’s creations “half sunk” in the sand, like Ozymandias and so many others before him?

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