An Austrian Reexamination of Recent Thoughts on the Rise and Collapse of Societies

"In Guns, Germs, And Steel (1997) and Collapse (2005), Professor Jared Diamond argues that geography and environment are the “ultimate determinants” of the fates of societies.1These books can be described as focusing on the fields of environmental geography and geographical anthropology. The 1997 book explores the ascendancy of certain cultures and their dominance over competing societies. For Diamond, the broad pattern of history can be understood and explained within the context of geographical and environmental circumstances facing societies. In his 2005 book, Diamond continues to focus on geographical and environmental considerations, but in this case, seeks to demonstrate the role of “ecocide” (environmental destruction from human activity) in societal collapse."