Wednesday, September 30, 2009

3. How a leader can have a stable civilization

Well there are a few ways to have a stable society, but personally I would go with being loved, rather than being feared. If the people are pleased with the leader, they are more willing to fight for their country, and less willing to rebel. With a feared ruler, the people are less willing to fight for the country, and much more likely to rebel. But keeping them happy is not necessarily going to be in line with keeping the civilization under control. While keeping the people happy is necessary, it is just as essential to have laws the state what is illegal, and legal, and what the punishment for each crime is. Without laws, the country would be in complete chaos. However, it is quite likely that what will keep the people happy, and what will keep them under control clash. In a situation like that, i would say it is more important to keep them under control. A society can live on with a relatively unhappy population, but it cant survive with a population that is tearing the country apart.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Jared Dimaond's Theory

I think that Jared Diamond's theory explains the issue very well. It makes perfect sense that, because the Middle East had crops that are easier to plant/pick, and are higher in protein, and that they had more, and much more useful animals, that they would thrive. With useful animals, the people didnt have to work as hard, they had better clothes, a steady supply of nutritious milk, and more meat. But with Papua New Guinea's animal, the pig, which was the only animal they had, all they would get is the meat. With the Middle East's great advantage, it makes sense they would thrive. They also had much better crops. More nutritious, easier to plant/pick, and easier to store, they would have much more food for much less work. Papua New Guinea's crops were pretty much the opposite. The people of Papua New Guinea had to work much harder, and still werent nearly as well off as the people of the MIddle East. It would have been nearly impossible for the poeople of PNG to advance as the people of the ME had.