Synopsis
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This book is written in the first year of the 21st century. That century has two major problems, which might or might not be interconnected:
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an uncontrolled, and seemingly uncontrollable, demographic explosion |
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a looming environmental disaster, involving a general warming and a corresponding raise of the level of the seas. |
The possibility of the interconnection comes from the fact that nobody really knows whether the ever-increasing number of humans causes the environmental disaster, or whether it is independent and follows a set and long-term climatic laws.
There is a third problem, much lesser quoted, although not less important, is the increasing gap between those who have a decent standard of living and those who barely manage to keep alive, That the two parts of humanity live in separate parts of our globe only add to the problem.
One wonders, whether this huge difference is the result of necessity, or is it something much more basic, with deep historical roots. Marvin Harris wrote in his book: Cannibals and Kings.
"Western observers have always been astonished by the static or 'stationary' nature of these ancient dynastic systems. Pharaohs and emperors came and went decade after decade; dynasties rose and fell; the life of the coolies, ryots and fellahin, however, went on as always, just a notch above basic subsistence. The ancient empires were full of warrens of illiterate peasants, toiling from morning to night only to earn protein-deficient vegetarian diets. They were little better off than their oxen and were no less subject to the commands of superior beings who knew how to keep records and who alone had the right to manufacture and use weapons of war and coercion. The fact that societies providing such meager rewards endured thousands of years - longer than any other system of statehood in the history of the world - stands as a grim reminder that there is nothing inherent in human affairs to ensure material and moral progress."
The difference between two parts of humanity, so eloquently described by Marvin Harris, is certainly connected to the demographic explosion. This book intends to prove that they are not only interconnected but are the results of a single, common historical process.
How were the warrens filled up with illiterate peasants? There is a popular assumption that the primary cause of the demographic explosion was the Neolithic Revolution, i.e. that after the conversion to agriculture people had a vegetarian diet and had a settled way of life. Both changes were conducive to increased procreation; they are correct in a way, but they are certainly not the primary causes.
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The nearest animal relatives to human beings are the great primates. They have a life span similar to humans, they have a mostly vegetarian diet, and their reproductive cycle is between 4 - 5 years. Similarly to the primates, other species have inner reproductive controls. These examples show that demographic explosion is not a biological necessity. |
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Between the start of the Neolithic Revolution and the emergence of the Urban Civilizations, were a few thousand years. Those thousand years were mostly spent in agriculture, but without demographic explosion. It started only after the beginning of the Urban civilizations; indeed Urban Civilizations were the first signs of a demographic explosion. |
The basic thesis of this book is that the demographic explosion is not the result of a settled way of life and of a mainly vegetarian diet, but of a random geographical situation and basic human nature.
After the end of the last Ice Age, the Old World, meaning the Eurasian and the African continents, was divided into three main climatic belts: Tropical, moderate and arid. (Both the Southern Hemisphere and the tundra of the subarctic regions are disregarded here). Depending on the climatic belt, each region had its leading economic activity:
| Tropic |
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horticulture |
| Moderate |
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agriculture |
| Arid |
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husbandry |
It should be mentioned here, that Europe, despite its high latitude, belongs to the moderate zone because of the warming effect of the Gulf Stream.
Each type of way of life shaped its participants. The basic traits of those engaged in agriculture were:
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settled way of life; low mobility |
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high degree of conformism and cooperation |
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general peaceful attitude |
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High degree of self-sufficiency. Agriculture provides all basic needs of life |
People engaged in husbandry were adapted to a different way of life:
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Nomadic existence, high degree of mobility |
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Individualism |
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Expertise in controlling large number of animals |
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Warlike nature. Readiness to fight against all comers. |
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Lack of self-sufficiency, especially in grains and other products. |
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Low density of population, less than a tenth of that of farmers |
It should be added here that the pattern of behavior was identical to people of all races. The Indo-European Scythians and Sarmatians were no less cruel and bloodthirsty than the Mongols of Ghengis-Khan. The environment shaped the people and not race.
The different characteristics of the two types of people caused a continuous conflict, which started much before the establishment of the Urban Civilizations and it continues in modern times too.
It probably started as raids of the nomads against settled communities, or as attempts of trade and barter. Eventually it reached the logical conclusion, which was the enslavement of the settled people by the cattle-nomads. In that method, eventually 'all the coolies, ryots and fellahin' became serfs of an armed aristocracy, who usually came from the north; only occasionally from the southern deserts. Until the advent of the gunpowder revolution, no people from the settled areas could withstand the nomads.
It was a continuous process. Once the invading cattle-nomads became an armed aristocracy, lording over the serfs, they became a new target to a new wave of hungry invaders, who wanted to have a share for themselves. There were two inevitable developments.
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The rule of a small, armed aristocracy over a large, farming population,
demanded measures which led to literate Urban Civilizations, central
administration and organized religion. |
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Cattle-nomads counted their wealth in the number of their cattle. Once they settled down as landed aristocracy, they transferred it to the number of their serfs. Since they provided a sort of security to their serfs by protecting them, and themselves, against new waves of raiders, they prepared the ground for a subsequent demographic explosion. |
This process is still continuing. Modern colonization and the transfer of manufacturing capabilities to the low-wage countries of the Third World are its latest manifestation.
Estimated date of publication : October 2001 |
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