True or False: Las Vegas is to Salt Lake City as Dubai is to Riyadh

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

Just thought of this analogy recently. Seems legit to me.

[Aurelius2]

Mormons built Vegas, but do they still run it?

[Skill and Chance]

Globally, here's a strong correlation between irrigation-dependent desert societies and explicitly religious communitarian governments.  Having a particular resort city become the designated release valve is also pretty common historically.

[PSOL]

Riyadh to my knowledge does not have Ahmadis or Wahhabis be the majority of the population and the latter is more akin to evangelicals than Mormons.

[Santander]

It is more useful to compare Riyadh and Jeddah with Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively.

SLC is not a good comparison to Riyadh because it is not remotely a conservative city. Mormons are a minority in SLC, and practicing Mormons are an even smaller minority. And while SLC is the titular center of Mormonism, Riyadh is the not the center of the Islamic faith. Mecca and Provo, there might be more of a comparison.

Other than resorts and high-end shopping, Las Vegas and Dubai don't have much in common, other than maybe both have large populations of low wage workers. Dubai is a magnet for international commerce, while Las Vegas is a meeting city.

[TDAS04]

Salt Lake City proper is more liberal than Las Vegas proper.

[Senator Incitatus]

Globally, here's a strong correlation between irrigation-dependent desert societies and explicitly religious communitarian governments.

Can you offer any reading on this? Geographic determinism is sort of my hobby horse.

[Aurelius2]

Globally, here's a strong correlation between irrigation-dependent desert societies and explicitly religious communitarian governments.

Can you offer any reading on this? Geographic determinism is sort of my hobby horse.

"Hydraulic despotism" is the key term. Karl Wittfogel seems like a good place to start. I have not read deeply on this myself but it's something I'd like to investigate further eventually.

[Mr. Smith]

Globally, here's a strong correlation between irrigation-dependent desert societies and explicitly religious communitarian governments.  Having a particular resort city become the designated release valve is also pretty common historically.

Rome's irrigation dependent?

[ملكة كرينجيتوك]

Globally, here's a strong correlation between irrigation-dependent desert societies and explicitly religious communitarian governments.  Having a particular resort city become the designated release valve is also pretty common historically.

Rome's irrigation dependent?

Egypt was one of the empire's primary breadbaskets, Egypt is literally an irrigated, agrarian desert society, and the imperial city depended on the provinces for food security. So kind of yes?