Geographic Luck: A Crucial Factor in Global Inequality

According to Jared Diamond, the inequality in the world--distribution of wealth, agricultural, industrial and economical success, and power-- is the sole result of Geographic Luck, and how people in certain regions were simply born into great environmental circumstances. He goes into detail, discussing the types of geographic advantages and disadvantages people had, the developments and advancements that came for some as a result of such advantages, as well as the technological breakthroughs, which made way for the future success and dominance of certain nations, spawning and branching from these developments.

To help illustrate his idea of Geographic Luck, Diamond uses the present day United States of America and the impoverished developing

country of New Guinea as examples, stretching back to the histories and founding of these countries, as well as others, thousands of years in the past.
As described in the documentary, about 15,000 years ago, subsequent to the last ice age, large game animals which people depended upon for food began to die off, and a newfound dependence upon plants for sustenance was discovered. Though most areas of the world at the time were exposed to and forced to adapt to this lifestyle, some, as Diamond emphasizes, were luckier than others--The Fertile Crescent, an area in the present day middle east, specifically, was luckier than others.
At this point, those in The Fertile Crescent (hunter-gatherers, nomads, populations of people) were thriving. They lived amongst the perfect environmental circumstances for agriculture, advancement and growth:
They had fertile soils, productive, nutritious, convenient and superior crops (such as Barley and Wheat) and suitable climates for the growth of their crops.

As a result, they had an incredible food supply, healthy communities and time to spend developing their culture and technology. With this extra time, they were able to develop Religion, convenient urban housing, writing and advanced agriculture, amongst many other additions to their society. At around the same time, surrounding countries and those akin to the climates of The Fertile Crescent made similar developments-- domestication, different unique grain crops, like rice, corn, and millet, and specialized careers in communities, all because, according to Jared Diamond, of Geographic Luck.

New Guinea, by contrast, had and has always had poor soils, inconvenient and inefficient crops and no domesticable or otherwise beneficial wildlife, and as a result, has never had the time for these developments-- all time had been poured into struggling to obtain a livable food supply, short of protein and nutrients.

Without good geography and opportunities for time for advancement, a country cannot

thrive.

(2)
For the most part, I agree with Jared Diamond on the impact Geography has had on the world, throughout history-- how, mainly because of their geographical situations, communities have been able to both thrive and fail.

Geography is, when thought about in this sense, the main reason for the inequality in the world, but it is not the sole reason.

Without convenient and suitable geography and good environmental conditions, a community is practically doomed to fail:

New Guinea, as the documentary uses it, is a perfect example of this, in contrast to other thriving countries around the world.

Because of it’s poor geography-- the inconvenient layout of the land, it’s lack of crops and productive, beneficial sources of food and the poor nutrients that such frugal crop (the taro plant) provides, the country has struggled for centuries. Moreover, New Guinea’s wildlife is incredibly poor, home to no animals that they can control, domesticate and use as a reliable source of food or to work.

They spend all of their time struggling, and therefore have no time to advance.

Countries who have made it, however, have acted as almost complete opposites to this, with surpluses of nutritious food, reliable and efficient crops. animals to domesticate, and time to spend in specialized careers, trade and

community.

Though this all may be true-- the fact that Geography almost totally determines national and communal success, it is not the only complete, determining factor, as Jared Diamond seems to suggest.
Religion, culture and politics could play a significant role in how a country or community does, as time goes on, and they advance, as with religion, politics and culture comes mindsets and attitudes: The way people approach and handle their problems, the way they organize things and the levels of hope they have for their situations to work out.
The Fertile Crescent, for example, whilst farming, was propelled by the ideas of gods (promising them a successful harvest, or rain for their crops) and otherwise superior beings to themselves: though this may not have led to their success as much as their pure luck, it certainly could have helped-- the idea that someone or something was looking after them, and that they should follow, depend upon and try to conform with the standards of this being, or beings.
A simple, strong political system, though it may not have been touched on much in the documentary, could act as just as much of a motivator as religion, or other beliefs. It could offer an organized system of occupations, ordered plans for infrastructure or a basic, systematic trade system, which could hasten a community’s advancement even more.

Jared Diamond is correct in his ideas about inequality in the world, but his reasoning is likely only half of the story.