polymathwannabe comments on Open thread, Jan. 18 - Jan. 24, 2016 - Less Wrong Discussion
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Saudi Arabia flooded the market in order to reduce the price, in order to combat the benefit to Iran of the raising of sanctions.
That's a strange move. Right now the last thing oil producers need is even lower prices.
You're assuming they are maximizing money. That is not so.
Consider that Saudi Arabia and Iran are on the opposing side of Islam sects, so the reason was to stump the sudden economic growth of their enemy.
Yes, it's centuries that people kill each over who was the correct successor of Muhammad, his cousin or his friend. Welcome to planet Earth...
I get that. But by cutting their own lifeblood? On what basis do Saudi strategists estimate that the damage to the Saudi economy will be small enough compared to the damage to the Iranian one?