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He also seems to suggest that more open-ended, looser value systems (more liberal) are less likely to cause eco-chaos. The ideas of conservation and sustainability are common sense, not political ideas. In fact, he uses two oil companies as examples: One that destroyed the environment and one that protected it and extracted oil without destroying it. He points out how some "wealthy" continue to isolate themselves and broaden the gap between them and other people. But apparently many have ignored this particular cause which is quite evident in many of Diamond's examples such as Easter Island. Perhaps removing the stranglehold the unions have on the schools that show little care for the students or government bureaucrats pretending they know the best way to teach our kids. His discussion of Haiti gives important background to the chaos there after the earthquake.Often people take one extreme position or another.
The cover seems to suggest that the environmental abuse is the sole reason for these particular collapses. This is in stark opposition to the thesis of his book: Corrupt, loose or non-existent, socialistic moral systems are where the worst environmental chaos exists. While some fit this stereotype, some of his discussion sounds like talking points from his left-wing buddies. Do wealthy really oppose tax cuts because they don't want to help others. Diamond, giving more money to public schools won't solve their problems. Occasionally, Diamond's own political fundamentalism bubbles to the surface. Or is it because public schools are often inferior. Quality of education has gone down as we have thrown more money at it.
Sorry, Mr. However, Diamond makes it clear that this is only one cause, interconnected with others. Often the tactics of extreme environmentalists push others into ignoring the state of the environment, which often has direct connections to our health.
He often mentions how the Viking's rigid Christianity was a major factor in their demise. They must educate their kids or they will be shut down. Private schools don't have the luxury of stealing tax money.
Collapse is an info-dense look at why societies collapse. Diamond doesn't suggest the abandonment of industry or Big Oil, etc. Do they prefer private schools for uppity reasons.
He contradicts himself with his previous books, clearly a sign he is trying for sales, not complete information for the audience. He attempts to play the role of an anthropologist when he is an environmental scientist. I am not saying Questioning Collapse is completely correct either, but it gives a more rounded idea of the story. This book was a required read for one of my college courses, and it proved to have some interesting ideas. Diamond hasn't thought his own ideas out, and has proved to be one author that is weakening the science field as he picks out only the science that "proves" his hypothesis, not a review of all the ideas that exists. I suggest reading Questioning Collapse: Human Resilience, Ecological Vulnerability, and the Aftermath of Empire, as it shows clearly how Diamond could be wrong.
But it's sobering and thought-provoking. It's a little depressing to read this book. It convincingly illustrated how fragile human society can be, and why nothing can be taken for granted - continued survival of human societies, the human race on the planet earth, or other human organizations such as corporations.High recommended for anyone who is interested in history, environment, or business (Gates once said it's one of the best business books he had read, and I can see why) Just remember to prepare yourself for the chilling but truthful description of all these collapses.
Associated with these factors is an expanding population whose numbers could no longer be sustained. Comparatively high death rates nothwithstanding, overpopulated countries with unsustainably high birth rates like Haiti and Rwanda will continue to "export" their surplus population to other nations. The effects of poor land use in Haiti have resulted in severe environmental consequences to the western side of Hispaniola. It may appear as condemnation of a people when the culture itself is the main element behind societal collapse. Weak or non-existent institutions have made Haiti almost completely reliant on foreign aid. Diamond does provide analysis of the Rwanda situation.
His comparative analysis of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two very different nations that share the Island of Hispaniola would have been stronger if he were willing to delve deep into the character of the two cultures. The recent major earthquake in Haiti has made it clear that Haiti exists as a mostly-failed nation state. Diamond skillfully weaves the ingredients of societal collapse into a common thread by providing many interesting historical details and less-known facts. At its best, it provides a sweeping view of why a society succeeds or collapses. It may not be politically correct to "out" culture as the main reason for a failed state especially when it exists in current time. It may have been easier for Diamond to provide clear analysis on the cultural reasons for collapse of historic civilizations than for a failing society that exists today."Collapse" came out a few years ago.
Because of international aid, the shrinking modern world and the ability of people to relocate, a modern failing society does not collapse in the same way that a historic civilization did. At some risk of oversimplification, Diamond identifies three main culprits of collapse: the depletion of soil; the scarcity of water; and deforestation with somewhat different permutations in each case. As the world continues to shrink, people will "vote with their feet" and legally or illegally, migrate elsewhere. What Haiti and Rwanda have in common is that both countries are severely overpopulated in terms of the resources available to support their populations. While Haiti and Rwanda are small in size, China, India, Pakistan and most of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa are large and also overpopulated. The Dominican Republic, occupying the eastern half of the island is comparatively wealthy, stable and exists with much stronger institutions.
Diamond provides examples of past civilizations and of more modern societies.Among the societies dissected are the Norse Vikings of Greenland, the Anasazi of the American Southwest, Easter Island and the Mayan Empire of the Yucatan, older civilizations that rose--and fell. I found Diamond to be on shakier ground in the latter half of the book. The differences between the two are mostly cultural. The migration of people from already-overpopulated nations may be the central issue of the 21st century. Jared Diamond's "Collapse," is a bold and compelling work which I highly recommend reading.
There was a need for tighter editing which would have reduced redundant narrative.Many of his conclusions are spot-on, others are more speculative. At the time, the situation in Rwanda was compelling front-page news.
Read through the book and then investigate what leading scholars think, you will find a lot of variance. I'm not going to bore anyone here, but this book studies many societies that have collapsed and disappeared, most of these societies that disappeared are still completely unknown to how our why, but Jared Diamond tries to lead the reader to believe that his theories are very precise. This fact alone dispels many of Diamonds own arguments about how the societies chose to fail, since this global cooling actually was completely out of anyone's control. I found Collapse to be very disappointing; I read this book for a master's course in Business at a very liberal California State School. I have become almost immune to radical liberal points of views, and this book embodies many of them. Also, keep in mind that many of these societies disappeared during the same time, during a cooling period known as the mini ice age, around 1300ce-1800ce.
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