A thin line separates black from white, just as a thin line separates rentierism from sustainability. The difference between them lies in their concepts of operation and productive thought. The former depends entirely on the productivity of the land and its natural resources, while a productive economy depends on what human beings create upon that land. The contrast between the two is clear. Natural resources are forms of wealth threatened by depletion over time and by unregulated consumption. The human mind and human productivity are not. Dependence on rent is therefore a difficult dilemma that weakens labor productivity and entrenches a social culture with negative values, in which society is distributed across a pyramid of unequal segments: opportunities narrow for those at the bottom, while those at the top enjoy abundance, sustained by odious bureaucracy.

Arab states occupy the lower ranks of the world in their backwardness, with rentier economic thinking that exploits natural resources while wasting human minds. They rely on rentier production in a way that leaves them behind other countries that possess none of those natural blessings, yet have achieved better economic progress than rentier states. The clearest features of the economy and politics of rentier countries appear in the values and principles upon which their strategies and mechanisms of action are built, for these values shape the path toward objectives and ends. In the space of the rentier state, which shows no concern or respect for productive value, whoever masters the art of seizing opportunities for personal benefit becomes the leader of the scene. This alone is enough to darken the horizon of every determined will with a black cloud, discouraging and weakening it through the contempt it spreads toward productive value, its failure to embrace sound principles, and its deviation from the proper path that requires appreciation for those of competence, experience, and knowledge.

This series of articles comes to shed light on the Kuwaiti economy in particular. Through it, we aim to place before our eyes the need to confront the lack of true awareness and precise understanding of the concept of economic vision — a concept that takes the form of radical solutions targeting the state’s macroeconomic issues. We seek to explain how far the horizon extends beyond the image presented to us by everyone who has offered advice on Kuwait’s economic affairs. We hope that the vision of “Kuwait of Sustainability” will achieve what is hoped of it, and that it will contribute to raising the ceiling of public economic awareness: an awareness capable of seeing and understanding the consequences and course of events, and of forming its own perspective and critical opinion with full knowledge.

We cannot make reforms related to microeconomic issues and organizational behavior the means by which the Kuwaiti economy is transformed into a sustainable economy. Rather, such reforms must be the result of macroeconomic reforms that move the Kuwaiti economy toward sustainability and absorb the issues that have taken root and grown within Kuwait’s rentier economy: conflicts of interest, administrative and financial corruption, the unlawful exploitation of state resources, and other issues that do not fall within the responsibility of whoever designs the vision, but within the responsibility of those whom the vision’s strategies assign to achieve its objectives — objectives that serve the macroeconomy alone.

In light of all the foregoing, what we need in order to ensure our exit from this mire is to empower the human mind, place trust in those who deserve it, and exert every effort toward economic reform, rather than settling for artificial planning designed merely to keep pace with neighboring countries or silence public opinion. Do not reopen the wound without dressing it. We are all fully certain of the source of the ailment and the cause of the disease. We seek, with complete transparency and sincere intent, reform and change, together with the strict application of every measure capable of transforming the economy into a sustainable, productive economy that does not depend on an exhaustible natural resource. This must be achieved through laws and decisions arising from impregnable wisdom, capable of developing, changing, and reshaping the culture of an entire society, and through the efforts of people of good intent who give no regard to their personal interests, but strive with all their strength to elevate a new Kuwait: a sustainable Kuwait, a Kuwait whose sons and daughters build its glory and future with their hearts before their hands, so that generation after generation may inherit it after them.

It is ours. Are we worthy of it?

How does Kuwait’s transition from rentier dependence to productivity affect Kuwait?

Its effect appears in how costs, incentives, and resources are managed, and in Kuwait's ability to turn decisions into sustainable value. The direct context is for Kuwait to move from rentier dependence to sustainable productivity through macroeconomic reform, human empowerment, and cultural change.

How does understanding the factor of the future help explain economic visions?

A serious vision reveals the cost of transition, assigns responsibility, and measures results; otherwise it remains a general promise without executive force. It should therefore be read through the future, cost, results, and added capacity, not through intention alone.

How does understanding the factor of the future help explain exports?

Exports reduce fragility because they widen income sources and force the private sector to test its capacity in markets not protected by the state. It should therefore be read through the future, cost, results, and added capacity, not through intention alone.

How does understanding the factor of the future help explain economic development?

Development becomes sustainable when it builds productivity, skills, institutions, and exports capable of generating renewable value. It should therefore be read through the future, cost, results, and added capacity, not through intention alone.