Guns Germs And Steel Critical Analysis
Major Themes of Guns, Germs, and Steel
As Jared Diamond examines the major factors of a great civilization after being posed by Yali’s question, he comes to an astounding realization. It is that Asians and Europeans came to be powerful not because they were smarter or better than other civilizations, but because they were luckier in terms of geography. Diamond focuses on the idea that the success of a society is not catalyzed by genetics or natural superiority, but instead by these two major themes: “The Rise of Food Production” and “The Domestication of Animals”. These two themes share a similar concept, Geographic Luck, which I will address separately. These components will later lead into the three sub-themes, two of which the book is named after: Discovery and Use of Steel, Germs and Immunity to Them, and Development of Writing. Genetic or natural superiority are common assumptions people make that are later translated into racism. Diamond intended …show more content…
So many major infectious diseases evolved from bacteria carried by animals, including smallpox, flu, tuberculosis, measles, and so many more. But because the Eurasians had been repeatedly decimated by these diseases, those who had survived had developed some immunity to them. In going back to the European conquest of the Americas, the steel weapons, the horses and the guns did do a lot, but ultimately it was the germs and the diseases that the Europeans brought over that led to the decimation of the natives. When the Pilgrims settled down in Massachusetts, their leader John Winthrop wrote “But for the natives in these parts, God hath so pursued them as for 300 miles space the greatest part of them are swept away by the smallpox.” Germs are equally, if not more effective as guns and steel in terms of effectiveness in
As Jared Diamond examines the major factors of a great civilization after being posed by Yali’s question, he comes to an astounding realization. It is that Asians and Europeans came to be powerful not because they were smarter or better than other civilizations, but because they were luckier in terms of geography. Diamond focuses on the idea that the success of a society is not catalyzed by genetics or natural superiority, but instead by these two major themes: “The Rise of Food Production” and “The Domestication of Animals”. These two themes share a similar concept, Geographic Luck, which I will address separately. These components will later lead into the three sub-themes, two of which the book is named after: Discovery and Use of Steel, Germs and Immunity to Them, and Development of Writing. Genetic or natural superiority are common assumptions people make that are later translated into racism. Diamond intended …show more content…
So many major infectious diseases evolved from bacteria carried by animals, including smallpox, flu, tuberculosis, measles, and so many more. But because the Eurasians had been repeatedly decimated by these diseases, those who had survived had developed some immunity to them. In going back to the European conquest of the Americas, the steel weapons, the horses and the guns did do a lot, but ultimately it was the germs and the diseases that the Europeans brought over that led to the decimation of the natives. When the Pilgrims settled down in Massachusetts, their leader John Winthrop wrote “But for the natives in these parts, God hath so pursued them as for 300 miles space the greatest part of them are swept away by the smallpox.” Germs are equally, if not more effective as guns and steel in terms of effectiveness in