By-Two Kaapi in an oilfield

Arnold Kling writes here:

Suppose that we used military force to take over oil, keeping it in the hands of private companies and taking it out of the hands of governments. This would not only serve my wife's purpose of keeping oil money away from terrorists. As I read Collier, such a policy would improve the governance and economic development of the countries afflicted with the "resource curse." We would be doing the people (as opposed to the governments) a favor.

I have a very mixed feeling to this line of argument. For one, I hate the very thought of a rogue state sitting on tonnes of oil, the corrupt politicians/militia playing around with hookers all day while the people of that country rot in abject poverty. At the same time, a military intervention? By whom? You expect me to trust Uncle Sam? Are you on medication, son?

These days oil companies are bigger than nations in terms of revenue. The biggest oil giants outrank every country in the world except 25-30 countries. (Check 1 and 2). And I wouldn't trust the oil which my kids would need, entirely on them either. Oil and state are too intertwined to let anything good happen.

What do we do? Beats me!