Is There a Hierarchy?

5min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

So much of political philosophy starts with hobbs and rousseau. Neither one had any idea what humans were like in a state of nature. And so, of course, we now reject any kind of marxian forces of history that push things along. But on the other hand, isn't there kind of logic? Say, take jerd diamond's argument that enough to go from a small band of a couple doe people,. where resolute conflict resolution can happen on a small scale. If you scale up to thousands or tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, you end up in this kind of hierarchical a astructure rather than a horizontal structure. W you have to have somebody

Shermer and Morris discuss: the history of Big/Deep History • the US, UK, Europe and the West in the context of Russia and China and his book Why the West Rules — for Now • Russia’s war on Ukraine in the context of his book War: What is it Good For? • the future of energy and civilization in the context of his book Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels • “national character” • the similarities and differences in people from the US, UK, and Europe • China and the future of energy and political power • what Britain was like 8000 years ago • the major transitions in British history • Nigel Farage and Brexit, and 5 things that matter then and now: Identity, Mobility, Prosperity, Security, Sovereignty • Adam Smith and the economic revolution • counterfactual history • slavery • the role of ideas in history (civil rights, rule of law, justice, etc.) • colonialism • postcolonialism • reparations • immigration and migration in history and today.

Ian Morris is the Jean and Rebecca Willard Professor of Classics and Professor in History at Stanford University and the author of the critically acclaimed Why the West Rules — for Now, as well as The Measure of Civilization: How Social Development Decides the Fate of Nations; Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels: How Human Values Evolve; and War! What is it Good For? He has published many scholarly books and has directed excavations in Greece and Italy. His new book is Geography is Destiny: Britain’s Place in the World: A 10,000-Year History.