For years, Saudi Arabia sold the world a vision that seemed to belong more to speculative fiction than economic planning. Mirror-walled cities stretching across deserts, artificial ski resorts in arid mountains, futuristic business hubs and limitless sporting ambitions were projected not merely as infrastructure projects, but as symbols of a post-oil civilisation under construction.

Today, many of those ambitions are being quietly reduced, delayed or discarded. What is unfolding is not simply a financial adjustment. It is the collision between authoritarian spectacle and economic reality. The retreat from several headline projects under Vision 2030 marks an important moment in the evolution of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is discovering that state wealth, however immense, cannot indefinitely substitute for commercial logic, investor confidence or geopolitical stability. Oil revenues can finance announcements.

They cannot guarantee viable cities, sustainable tourism ecosystems or functioning global business hubs. The deeper problem lies in the structure of decision-making itself. Systems built around concentrated power often produce grand ambition with limited internal scrutiny. When rulers are insulated from criticism,........

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