To come back to what you say: actually, the Brits insinuated themselves into India, putting on a show of what was calculated to impress the Indians, knowing that if the natives could actually see what their country was really like they might not be quite so dazzled. It was a trial and error process, to a certain degree, starting out as the East India Company, almost losing through their arrogance and lack of attention in the 1857 mutiny and then performing the "white man's burden" and governing with a tight fist for the 80 years thereafter before things imploded. The point I make is that they were opportunistic, pragmatic, and pretty damned smart - among other less desirable things. They creatively made the most of their situation and gradually sucked the country dry - initially even with the blessing of the Mughals who had no idea what was about to hit them.
Secondly, regarding oil as a commodity: if it wasn't for the House of Saud's inextricable links with Washington, and their pouring of plentiful oil onto the world market to keep costs low (what they are trying to do at the current moment) oil would have been subject to far more volatile pricing and thus the world economy (and with it, Western hegemony) would have grown at a far slower rate.
By still agreeing to sell it at 'market value', rather than hold the world to ransom and sell at, say, strictly 200 euros a barrel to the West all the time - and a discounted 50 euros to their friends in the Far East - they strengthen the power of a capitalist system which will do nothing for them in their time of need. Thus their love of money tragically (for them) comes before strategic aforesight: that was what I meant.
To come back to what you say: actually, the Brits insinuated themselves into India, putting on a show of what was calculated to impress the Indians, knowing that if the natives could actually see what their country was really like they might not be quite so dazzled. It was a trial and error process, to a certain degree, starting out as the East India Company, almost losing through their arrogance and lack of attention in the 1857 mutiny and then performing the "white man's burden" and governing with a tight fist for the 80 years thereafter before things imploded. The point I make is that they were opportunistic, pragmatic, and pretty damned smart - among other less desirable things. They creatively made the most of their situation and gradually sucked the country dry - initially even with the blessing of the Mughals who had no idea what was about to hit them.
Secondly, regarding oil as a commodity: if it wasn't for the House of Saud's inextricable links with Washington, and their pouring of plentiful oil onto the world market to keep costs low (what they are trying to do at the current moment) oil would have been subject to far more volatile pricing and thus the world economy (and with it, Western hegemony) would have grown at a far slower rate.
By still agreeing to sell it at 'market value', rather than hold the world to ransom and sell at, say, strictly 200 euros a barrel to the West all the time - and a discounted 50 euros to their friends in the Far East - they strengthen the power of a capitalist system which will do nothing for them in their time of need. Thus their love of money tragically (for them) comes before strategic aforesight: that was what I meant.