Review of Jared Diamond "Guns Germs and Steel"

Review of Jared Diamond's "Guns Germs and Steel". Geography is not everything

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Jared
• Diamond
• Guns
• Germs
• Steel

[Deguello321]

This guy is a Nazi idiot. What's the matter dude sad that Jared Diamond forever smashed your white supremacy?

[lauragabriel]

@Deguello321 I'm not sure if your comment is directed towards me. If so, how am I a white supremacist?

[Noisegator]

lauragabriel - How is the variance between Catholics and Protestants a "major difference" in human society. Is there another example?

While the ideologies of human societies (and more importantly of their ruling classes), are important to the social history of particular peoples, they are not instrumental to the acceleration and spread of their culture and technology.

Accidents of geological and agricultural fate are what propel their success, not the quality of their ideologies.

[lauragabriel]

@Noisegator Well, Max Weber would argue that the difference between Catholics and Protestants was indeed crucial. Such a difference made capitalism possible.

[AmokBR]

So colder countries became protestant and and warmer ones stayed Catholic.

So what if geography doens't directly explain certain differences between human societies?

Diamond's argument is that geography is the main factor behind the origin of inequality between peoples, and it's a very well aegued and simple position.

In short, what's the point of this video? Can propose another explanation as to why some people dominated others?

[lauragabriel]

The point of this video is, precisely as you mention, that some crucial differences between the outcome of societies is not due to geography. And, as far as I understood him, Diamond does think that most, if not all crucial differences are due to geography.

[jemmy141991]

@Hairysteed Yes you are completely right

[Venaloid]

So what does Protestant vs. Catholic have to do with which group dominated the other?

[Hairysteed]

It's not just the climate! It's the shape of the continents and access to domesticable plants and animals and also neighboring cultures.

[hoagiesupreme]

This guys argument may be weak, but why the hell is everyone calling him an idiot and a white supremesist? He pretty much said he partially disagrees.

As for your question: This book is a brief history covering the entire human race. What relgion developed where and how isn't dependant on geography, and he doesnt argue that.

[niriop]

In Soviet Russia, civilizations make geography!

[godofthisshit]

@lauragabriel

Isn't the book about Europe AND Asia? It's a known fact that much of Europe technology came from Asia. Also the reformation would be related to stable societies, which in turn is related to guns, germs and steel, No?

[MBEIH]

pathetic idiot!

[Deguello321]

Sorry Laura, I was talking about those stupid dudes.