Guns Germs And Steel Summary

1369 Words3 Pages

“Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?” This was the question posed to Dr. Jared Diamond by Yali, a local politician in New Guinea. Answering Yali’s question became the focus of Diamond’s book, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. Diamond particularly focused on “why were Europeans, rather than Africans or Native Americans, the ones to end up with guns, the nastiest germs, and steel?” Guns, Germs, and Steel took a scientific approach in viewing how certain locations in the world are far more advanced than others. I believe that this book as a whole is a very strong argument and response to both Yali and Diamond’s question. Observing …show more content…

This phenomenon can be explained through Diamond’s arguments of guns, germs, and steel. The Westerners began their civilization in a geographical location that were much superior to the indigenous and the aboriginal people in areas such as New Guinea and Africa. As Diamond pointed out in his book, “[e]nvironment can affect economy, technology, political organization, and fighting skill within a short time.” Indeed, good environments enable a nation to create a formidable army and specialists to strengthen the nation, therefore resulting in a high quality of life. In consequence, with the advancement in technology, weaponry, infrastructure, and writing, these forceful nations today are able to exert major impact in modern global affairs. European nations such as Britain, Spain, and France are prime examples of this phenomenon, as their early advancements make them major players in the United Nations and holds significant weight in global politics. Diamond points out that the “imbalances of equipment were decisive in innumerable other confrontations of Europeans with Native American and other peoples.” It is due to this early deficit that the present day African nations and other indigenous groups struggle to voice their opinions. Guns, Germs, and Steel offers valuable insights on the huge effects of geographic location …show more content…

Though it is very convincing, I do not fully agree with this concept. I agree that being located in a good geographical location enables a civilization to gain the upper hand early on, but I disagree that without good geography, a civilization will not be able to reach prosperity. My argument parallels James A. Robinson and Daron Acemoğlu’s argument made in Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. They used the example of Nogales, a city that is divided into two, with the northern half in the United States that enjoys a flourishing and safe life, while the southern half in Mexico and struggles to maintain a good living standard. This city has the exact same geographical conditions, and yet, the welfare varies drastically. The authors explain since the northern part of the city is in the United States, it has the access to the economic institutions, technology, and the government of the United States. In contrast, the southern part of the city suffers due to the corruption, disorder, and poor government system that is of Mexico. The point Robinson and Acemoğlu try to make with the example of Nogales, which I am in concurrence with, is that since it was technological development that gave North America the step up in the modern era, it doesn’t fully explain why Latin America, who

Open Document