Review by two influential economists
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:21 pm
I'll read that religion chapter one of these days, I better not make any more commitments to reading selections, I always end up putting it off.
Anyway, here's the review:
http://www.democracyjournal.org/28/past ... php?page=3
Interesting excerpt:
Anyway, here's the review:
http://www.democracyjournal.org/28/past ... php?page=3
Interesting excerpt:
For example, he asks, why is it that some societies are willing to accept the spanking of children while others are not? His thought-provoking answer is that this is related to the types of economic activities the societies emphasize. The empirical fact is that hunter-gatherers tend to punish children less than do agricultural or herding societies. Diamond argues that this is because a wayward child in a hunter-gatherer society can only hurt himself, while in agricultural or herding societies, a child may cause greater damage—for example, letting a cow or goat escape. The greater potential costs lead to more severe punishments.