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Originally Posted by Lothar5150
I think your economic theory is tanking. It is far cheaper to bribe people. As we have all seen…not going to point fingers (rhymes with Lance) 
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...but not reliable in the long term (or even in the short). Who says that the guys you bribed today will still be in charge tomorrow? Conflict investment is to make sure that they are.
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Honestly, my republic doesn't even have the continuity to fix long term internal problems. Two, four and six year periods respective of office are all you get. Planning for most policy ten, twenty or thirty years down the road is almost imposable in a democracy; the policy makers are only concerned about the next election. It’s one of the few but significant failings of all modern democratic governments.
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Again, you have to step beyond the here-and-now perspective for a bit. This has nothing to do with one particular government being in office; this is the long-term cumulative effort of a whole bunch of interested parties, part business, part political (because it is tied up in business). The City (as in Wall Street, or London) will always be the City, no matter who is in office at a particular time. Business will always be in business.
To get back to the "would you buy the airline to use your frequent flyer miles?" question: well, if you want to be absolutely sure that you can fly when you want, where you want, for as ling as you want, at any time now or in the future, then yes, the best thing to do is to own the airline. Or at least be a major share holder.