The Ottomans taught us too well. In exchange for a minimum level of freedom, the rulers of the Empire empowered (and armed) local leaders and tasked them with collecting taxes. Policy makers and stability maintaining were the domain of the central government in Constantinople. This worked brilliantly for the Empire, but in the case of Lebanon, it helped create a mindset that valued rent-seeking over productivity. Hundreds of years later, we are a nation ruled by feudal tax collectors and have lost the policy making and security that once came with it. Our political class has still not learned how to build, develop, and improve a nation, let alone build and bolster a productive economy. Regrettably, our political hierarchy views the state as a cash-cow to milk. Nothing more. Look no further than our tired roads, clogged with an ageing fleet of vehicles which contribute to the country’s poor air
