Frontier Capitalism’s Latest Frontier

Speaking of frontier capitalism, or “extreme capitalism” if you prefer, I recently discovered that one of the most isolated and interesting places on earth is now booming, economically-speaking. I am referring to of all places, Mongolia.

If you are a history buff like myself you no doubt have a fascination with Genghis Khan and the Mongol Hordes who swept across Asia and Europe roughly 800 years ago. If there’s a documentary on Mongolia and its people, you can bet your money I have seen it. The Mongols were perhaps history’s most intimidating warriors. Try to imagine a Mongol horde of 300,000 horsemen thundering across the Russian steppes towards your city.

There’s also a certain appeal to the nomadic lifestyle when you are inundated with paper work and record keeping. Then there’s the yurt too. Don’t get me started on how wonderful yurts are–especially the modern American ones with hardwood floors. I have spent many a weekend in one while attending seminars and such. But I digress.

 Mongolia is undergoing a mining boom these days.

Three kinds of foreigners, they say, prowl the world’s energy frontiers: missionaries, misfits and mercenaries.

The above quote is from this NY Times article Wealth Rises in Mongolia, as Does Worry which looks at both the pros and cons of the economic shift.

I also stumbled across this interesting site the other week, Capitalist Exploits, which deals with frontier capitalism and Mongolia as well from the perspective of an investor. You can find some free reports there as well as premium content.

Here’s a clip from one of the recent films about the Mongol warriors.

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