Collapse
Why some societies destroyed themselves while others survived, and what that means for ours.
Jared Diamond asks why some past societies, such as Easter Island, the Norse colonies of Greenland and the Classic Maya, collapsed while others survived. He points to environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbours, weakened trading partners and above all how a society responds to its problems, and he draws lessons for today. This is the revised edition.
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Tristram Stuart
Well that’s what Jared Diamond explores so brilliantly in Collapse. He builds on many of the ideas that Harris explores, looking at the historical and evolutionary results of surplus: it frees people from producing food, giving rise to social hierarchies including chiefs, priests, artisans and, of course, soldiers.
Interview · December 2009
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