Relationship between natural environment, social development, and economic progress - Essay Example

He argues that the modern world’s inequalities trace its origin to many centuries ago. He notes that archaeological discoveries and histories show that different continents were experiencing different rates of development from 11, 000 B.C. to A.D. 1500, thus resulting to inequalities that were experienced in A.D. 1500, and to a greater extent in modern times (Diamond 1). He observes that while many Native American peoples and Aboriginal Australians remained Stone Age hunter and gatherers, many Eurasian peoples and most peoples of the sub- Saharan Africa and Americas gradually developed metallurgy, complex political organization, and agriculture (Diamond 2).

Environmental/ external conditions are critical for development; this assertion is greatly evident in Diamond’s discussion on Papua and its inhabitants. The inhabitants of Papua were mostly hunters and gatherers and had the simplest technology compared to most people of that time. They did not have shields, specialized stone tools, and could not start fire among other characteristics of “underdevelopment”. The environment that they lived in seemed to be the main reason leading to their situation at that time.

They did not have contact with the rest of the world since the bridge that was initially linking them to the land had been severed. Prior to the coming of Europeans in the mid- seventeenth century, they were completely isolated from other humans. To make the matter worse, Papua inhabitants were not just isolated but they were also the smallest of the human population in the world (Diamond 9). As such, accumulation of innovations could not happen thus inhibit their development. Furthermore, Diamond is of the opinion that man inspired the collapse of civilizations as evidenced by Easter Island.

His opinion is informed by the argument that the Europeans invaded Easter Island for slaves, in addition to spreading