Currently the middle east is going through a set of disturbances, something which is undoing a part of what was done there a century ago when the countries were carved up and eventually lead to a multitude of despicable regimes.

What they are fighting for is also a multitude of things, but a major theme is one of dignity and freedom. and jobs and prosperity, but the latter can be eased by the former.

So far Tunisia and Egypt caved and the regimes fell - the end result may be for the good, or it may be the same or worse, as instability always has a price.

Yemen is brinking on the edge of total chaos where the ruling President has promised to stand down but not many believe him. Some prominent figures, including in the army have asked him to go, others have asked him to stay.

Other regimes have cracked down, to a lesser extent Bahrain, and to a greater extent Libya.

The case of Libya is curious in that it was the regime's crackdown that divided the nation, the ferocity of its actions which made its foot soldiers question their loyalties.

If the Libyan regime had been more tolerant of the protests, the current status in Libya may have not been as bad as it is now, with its two neo-states.

Libya is a mess and is the first major negative consequence of the Arab revolt - though it could still come good. Eyes are now turning to - or already have turned to Syria.

Syria was pretty quiet when the other major revolts were happening. Some put this down to a stronger security apparatus, others to the hope that Bashar Al Assad would bring about change (and at only a decade in power, he had been in charge nowhere near as long as many of the other despots).

There was also the suggestion that Syria had "learnt" from the other revolts in that the security apparatus were told not to crack down.

All this changed 7 weeks ago in Deraa when some parts of the security apparatus decided to arrest some kids which some suggest were simply copying the graffiti from what they saw in other places on TV. When the parents and families protested, the security apparatus cracked down on them killing some and starting the cycle of violence there.

At first, there seemed to be a power struggle in the regime itself - some members including the president seeming to be ... peacable. But this is no longer the case and the regime is cracking down hard.

However, each crackdown is resulting in even bigger protests against the regime, even more soldiers and security personnel questining their orders. Each crackdown is a new nail into the coffin of the regime and if it continues, the Syrian regime will fall too.

This begsa the question - why are they cracking down? Surely they can see it is the wrong thing to do?

While for an individual freedom can be priceless, for a regime, granting it can be free, or even profitable.
The price of freedon would be less crackdowns, a smaller security apparatus, greater confidence and all of these things would help in creating greater prosperity for the people.

So granting freedom for such regimes would be cheap. Unless they have skeletons in their cupboard that the people will want justice for.

The current crackdowns are creating more and more skeletons - this price will only increase over time, so if the Syrian and other despotic regimes have a brain, they will grant it at their earliest convenience, at the cheapest bargain price.

It is not a coincidence that many of teh leading economies in the world also have greater levels of freedom - they don't have to waste as much money secretly spying on their citizens and curtailing as many rights. They can use that money for better more productive purposes. These regimes should seek the same bargain with their people.

Otherwise they will be swept away at a price that may be very high. The Libyan regime is already learning this, others may still have a chance to act.