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Response to Comments: /Econ_Articles/Reviews/diamond_guns.html

from Dan Hardie (ddehardie@aol.com)
Here are a few points; I hope the relations between them will gradually become clear...

You're right to say that Diamond's title understates the complexity of his thesis.However I think you're wrong to say that he merely cites 'size' (of Eurasia) as the main geographic determinant of 'Western'dominance. As I read it, at least equally important to his thesis was the topography of Europe: the proliferation of natural barriers to conquest of the entire continent. According to Diamond, the China of the 15th Century BC was prevented from developing its military and technological power by the fact that no land barriers existed to block the dominance of a single power-group.Hence, when the dominant Imperial faction turned against naval expansion and technological advance, there was no chance for dissidents to find some sheltered mini-state and continue as before.More generally, European states were free to compete against each other; methods of social organisation which led to military, economic or technological weakness tended to be pushed out by better practices, but there was always plenty of leeway for different ways of doing things.(Anyone who knows any European history will have fun thinking of examples: Descartes fleeing to the Low Countries to think his dangerous thoughts; the Royal Society preserving its independence from the English Government at a time when continental Academies were rigorously supervised).

Another thought is that much of Diamond's approach seems similar to that of the British science journalist Matt Ridley in his book 'The Origins of Virtue'.I can't speak for Ridley's use of the natural sciences in his attempt to explain the social behaviour of human beings, but his exposition of game theory seems pretty sound.It would be interesting to hear DeLong and other economists on the subject of Ridley's book, although his last chapter lets the rest of the work down, with its dopy Hayek-for-beginners moralising.

A final point is that Diamond's book seems to me to be so valuable that it is time we had a volume of critical essays compiled on it. What is terribly exciting about this is the variety of scholars who would conceivably have something to say to add to, defend or refute Diamond's thesis. I mentioned his theory of the underdevelopment of China to Dr Kent Deng of the LSE's Economic History Dept., and he felt it was an implausibe explanation. Similarly, Diamond's explanation for the failure to domesticate indigenous African animals was criticised by the reviewer for the London Review of Books, a zoologist. He said Diamond's reasoning here was very improbable, and actually gave a numerical estimate of its improbability, although alas he did not include his workings: surely he could write an expanded paper putting this thesis forward.

In short, I feel a really good interdisciplinary argument over Diamond's book would be a marvellous thing. Anyone have any ideas how we might proceed with this: seminars, online debates, a book.....? Contributed by Dan Hardie (dehardie@aol.com) on December 23, 1999.

(posted 8729 days ago)

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