에드워드 도서관(Edward Library)
Guns, Germs, and Steel(Jared Diamond) 본문
Guns, Germs, and Steel(Jared Diamond)
Edward.L 2023. 10. 20. 08:46Guns, Germs, and Steel is a masterpiece that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 and is a detailed account of human history, how some countries survived, why some countries are richer now, and why other countries did not develop technology first. A lot of data is attached.
In the beginning, the rise and fall of each country appeared due to environmental factors, and in modern times, it also shows the rise and fall due to political, economic, and social differences.
I would like to describe what I personally found important after reading Guns, Germs, and Steel.
1. Germs are a more frightening weapon than guns and steel.
"It is estimated that 95 percent of the indigenous population of North and South America before Columbus died from such diseases."
mobile e-book: 222p
"Such conquest might not have been possible without Europe's evil gift to other continents: pathogens that evolved during Eurasians' long familiarity with livestock."
mobile e-book: 591p
"Most of the pathogens that cause infectious diseases in dense human societies evolved from pathogens that cause infectious diseases in livestock."
mobile e-book: 987p
The reason why Europeans, who were very disadvantaged in numbers, conquered America was because they had better technology than them, armed with guns and iron, but the bigger part was that as they domesticated animals, diseases from livestock were transferred to humans, causing smallpox, plague, etc. It is stated that this was because many people were massacred due to many pathogens that Native Americans had never experienced, such as cholera and influenza.
So the reason why Europeans had so many pathogens was because they had more domesticated animals than North and South America.
This is because humans in the past were hunters and gatherers, almost nomads, and could not stay in one area for long, creating an environment in which pathogens could grow.
However, as agricultural technology developed, people began to settle down, and after agriculturalization, they were able to domesticate various animals.
As they began to settle down, the population grew explosively, and many people and animals lived together, most bacteria became good habitats due to the excrement of animals and humans, and began to evolve.
So, pathogens that were only found in animals began to spread to people, and humans, who began domestication first, experienced the pathogens and developed resistance to them, and various types of livestock (cattle, pigs, horses, sheep, etc.) Europeans, who were able to raise as many animals as possible, began to acquire pathogens more powerful than guns and steel.
Then, the reason why domestication was not successful in North and South America was because there were not many types of animals that could be domesticated.
This is also true in Africa, where there are many more animals such as rhinos, hippos, and lions, but these livestock do not follow humans.
Due to these differences, humans in North and South America and Africa were defeated by Europeans because they were unable to acquire numerous pathogens through domestication even when agriculture developed.
The author says he believes that if there had been many animals that could be domesticated in North and South America, Columbus' voyage might have ended in failure.
As I was raising my child, I learned that I received numerous vaccinations, and I believe that these are all aimed at suppressing germs that have evolved in the past.
Thanks to the advancement of medicine and vaccines against these germs, we can live healthy lives even now, and life expectancy has increased dramatically compared to the past.
2. Becoming a rich and strong country seems to depend on the country's history, political system, environment, and people's thoughts.
"The countries that have emerged as emerging powers today are either countries that were incorporated from centers of power based on food production thousands of years ago, or countries where people migrated after leaving those centers."
mobile e-book: 1204p
"A 'good system' refers to an economic, social, and political system that induces the increase of national wealth by stimulating each citizen's desire to produce something."
mobile e-book: 1236p
"(1) inflation control, (2) educational opportunities, (3) government efficiency, (4) enforcement of contracts, (5) elimination of trade barriers, (6) institutions that attract investment of financial capital and provide opportunities, These are (7) eradication of corruption, (8) low murder frequency, (9) floating exchange rate system, (10) protection of individual property rights, (11) rule of law, or (12) smooth flow of capital."
mobile e-book: 1237p
This is a point of comparison as to why our country lives better than North Korea.
Based on the above, I would like to compare why our country is better off.
(1) Inflation management
North Korea will also manage inflation, but since it is a controlled economy that lives solely on the opinions of one leader, the economy cannot function properly.
(2) Educational opportunities
In North Korea, even if education is provided, more emphasis is placed on strengthening the communist ideology and socialist system, and education is not considered to be institutionally superior to that of South Korea.
(3) Government efficiency
North Korea (including China) believes that government efficiency cannot even be found because everything is decided by only one person's voice.
(4) Enforcement of contract
It is clearly a cease-fire country, but I do not think there is any sincerity in the agreement regarding the continued attacks on Korea and the development of nuclear weapons.
(5) Elimination of trade barriers
I believe that North Korea cannot develop further because it only trades with communist countries.
(6) A system that induces investment of financial capital and provides opportunities
The United States is where the most money flows in the world.
Although there is no place that is stable and where investment can be obtained, North Korea is always unstable, and only countries that follow the communist system invest, and countries with a capitalist system are thought to have no investment value at all.
(7) Combating corruption
There may be a lot of corruption in many countries, including Korea, but I think corruption is actually worse in communism.
There is no proper system, and only those with power in the political world (close to the leader) will commit more severe corruption, and I believe that corruption is rampant through more and more diverse routes, such as defector brokers from North Korea.
(8) low murder frequency;
I don't have detailed data on North Korea, but I think there are more people dying from starvation than from murder.
(9) Floating exchange rate system
The floating exchange rate is based on the value of each country's currency through trade with the rest of the world, but since North Korea does not trade, I don't think it exists at all.
(10) Protection of personal property rights
I think there would be no such thing as personal property rights in North Korea, and even if there were, only people close to the leader would have them.
Also, because it is communist, most people believe that it belongs to the state and that personal property is not protected.
(11) Rule of law
It is also questionable whether there is such a thing as a law.
One person will continue to change the law, but it is questionable whether it can really be called law.
(12) Smooth flow of capital
I think there is no flow of capital because there is almost no trade with other countries.
There are reasons why our country is better off than North Korea in all the aspects described above.
If we apply the above formula to other countries as well, we can think about why that country has failed to become wealthy even though it has many resources and a large land area.
Of course, I only explained it by economics, but I think there are many other factors as well.
That's why I think it was a good thing I was born in Korea, and I think it's a better way for the country and its people to behave and work well in the country I currently live in rather than having illusions and hopes for other countries.
Do you think life in Korea is difficult?
It seems like the priority is what it would be like if you were born in North Korea and whether you would still be alive.
According to the book's epilogue, China used to dominate the world in all aspects of science and technology.
However, as they continued to maintain a unified country, they became less competitive with neighboring countries, did not develop, and due to bad leaders, they got rid of their good culture, technology, and education, so they regressed.
On the other hand, Europe was divided into hundreds of countries in the past and dozens of countries now, and I think it has developed further because each country has competed with its own culture, technology, and economy.
I don't think unification or coming together is always a good thing.
총 균 쇠(저자 : 재레드 다이아몬드, 출판사 : 김영사)
해당 글은 책을 읽고 개인적인 의견, 요약 내용이니 참고하여 주시기 바랍니다. 총, 균, 쇠는 1998년 퓰리처상을 받은 대작으로 인간의 역사에 대해 자세하게 나와 있으며, 어떤 국가가 어떻게
minilds.tistory.com
- 저자
- Jared Diamond
- 출판
- W. W. Norton & Company
- 출판일
- 2017.03.07
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