Re: *** Chapter 6,7 & 8 *** - Norse Greenland Fugue to F
Much of this section (chapters 6, 7 &
are being covered in badmendicant's post "Greenland Collapse II".
The Norse really messed up by not be-friending the Inuit, but in the parlance of the times, I guess there was little hope of any other outcome due to prevailing predjudices and religious dogma.
I have seen a few timese in this forum that people feel that examining these smaller societies does not mesh with applying Diamond's theory to larger, global society. On page 267, Diamond touches on how this is not necessarily a good stance to take. He points out how much turmoil was cause by the oil embargo of 1973. What would we do if the oil producing nations cut off our oil supply? (Aside from pre-emptive war - lol). Would this be a function of trade relations with FRIENDLY neighbors or hostile neighbors? Whatever the case, it would hurt our country and many others big time. It would impact every economy of every country precisely BECAUSE of our global economy.
On page 273, Diamond also alludes to another modern problem of population shift. In the smaller societies studied, like Norse Greenland and Maya, when population expanded, new settlements were formed and smaller population clusters abounded. But when the well ran dry due to climate change, those outlying clusters flooded back in to the main cities and thus caused big problems for all. This Diamond likens to immigration from poor countries into "the over-crowded lifeboats" that are rich countries. Do we accept continued immigration at the risk of our own eventual collapse?
Chapter 8 closes with an example of leadership that I see today. Affluent people trying to get more at the expense of what is good for the society. It is an irritating example of an insane dichotomy that has plagued our species since that first hominid bashed his buddy on the head for the shiney little rock he wanted all for himself. We live to succeed, either biologically or otherwise, and yet we will destroy that which enables us to do so.
Mr. P.
The one thing of which I am positive is that there is much of which to be negative - Mr. P.
The pain in hell has two sides. The kind you can touch with your hand; the kind you can feel in your heart...Scorsese's "Mean Streets"
I came to kick ass and chew Bubble Gum...and I am all out of Bubble Gum - They Live, Roddy Piper
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at: 6/16/05 8:22 pm
