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> Compare the impact the US system of government has had with the impact the Icelandic form cited in this article had. The indigenous populations of North Ameri
by Nwallins 17y ago
> Compare the impact the US system of government has had with the impact the Icelandic form cited in this article had. The indigenous populations of North America and Australia have been around for thousands of years as well, with their "chieftain" systems of government, and similarly they just stagnated.
You really ought to check out Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel#The_theory_outlined http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel#The_theo...
Specifically, he would question your use of the word stagnate.
- axiom 17y agoI've read it, and I think it's silly to ascribe societal success based on the various random incedental facotrs surrounding it.
- Nwallins 17y agoI don't see where randomness comes into his explanation. Rather, I see his explanation for technological success as hinging on massive societies which specialize, which is in turn based on highly developed domestic agriculture, which is in turn based on the East-West axis of Eurasia with origins in the Fertile Crescent and East Asia.