A Review of Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

           Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed is a non-fiction book written by Jared Diamond. Jared Diamond is a professor of Geography at the University of California. He has researched immensely in the fields of physiology, evolutionary biology and biogeography. Diamond has written over two hundred articles in various magazines and his book, Guns, Germs and Steel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Collapse can be considered as its sequel. Collapse carefully examines and discusses the factors as to why societies fail or succeed. The central conflict dealt in the book is that of man versus nature. The setting of the book can be enveloped by nature. The setting of the book spans various countries such as China, USA, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Greenland, and Mexico. Each setting is crucial to how the inhabitants used the land they were given to either succeed or cause the collapse of their own society. Diamond uses a five-point framework to understand societal collapses that were caused by environmental problems. The central issue dealt in the book is the careful examination of the growth and collapse of world societies. It bears great relevance to the problems faced by humans in the twenty-first century. Diamond stresses that we should learn from past failures to extract practical lessons for the present and future.

Throughout the book, Diamond’s third person point of view allows the reader to know his input and feedback toward what happened in the past and present societies. This third person point of view is very apt for a non-fiction book that deals with current issues and problems relevant to the human race. The reader is provided with a wealth of information and facts and is allowed to make his/her own inferences.

According to Diamond, every society that has collapsed due to environmental conditions has followed similar trends throughout history following a ‘five-point framework’. The five-point framework includes environmental damages, climate changes, hostile neighbors, friendly trade partners and the society’s response to environmental problems (Diamond 11). The first four points are possible factors in trying to understand the cause of the collapse and the fifth point will tell us if the society’s problems were due to environmental conditions (Diamond 14). The British Petroleum (BP) Gulf oil spill in 2010 is an apt example for the five-point framework. This is an example of how the society responded late for the problems causing catastrophic damage to nearby ecosystems and areas. The oil spill was caused by an oversight that could have been prevented. There was an explosion on the Transocean Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 workers. About 210 million gallons of oil was spilled in the Gulf of Mexico, greatly harming the marine ecosystem, business and tourism in the Gulf and cost billions of dollars to fix (CNN).

Collapse is split into four parts. The first section is set in Bitterroot Valley, Montana. Diamond shows how at first glance, Bitterroot Valley is very pristine, beautiful and perfect. However, looks are very deceiving as it’s plagued with environmental problems like increasing population, immigration, increasing scarcity and decreasing quality of water, locally and seasonally poor air quality and toxic wastes. Other problems include heightened risks from wildfires, forest deterioration, losses of biodiversity, damage from introduced pest species, and the effects of climate change (Diamond 32). Bitterroot Valley, Montana seems to be a textbook example of our world, how it is healthy at first glance, but if you look deeper, one can see just how flawed it actually is.

The second part of the book discusses the collapses of past societies in great detail. These societies are set in the infamous Easter Island, Pitcairn and Henderson Islands, the Anasazi, the Mayan civilization, the Vikings and the Norse Greenland society. The mystery of Easter Island is one of the most commonly cited collapses. One reason Diamond chose this case was because it was an ecological disaster that happened in almost complete isolation (Diamond 118). This is important because no outside factors could cause the collapse; it was solely the doing of the inhabitants of Easter Island. Diamond had great insight on how the political system played a huge role in the building of the mysterious stone heads of Easter Island. They weighed up to about 9000 tons and there were hundreds of them. Rivaling clans competed by statue building. Diamond explains how the Eastern Islanders cut down all the trees on the island to get the stone for these large heads causing major deforestation (Diamond 112). The Eastern Islanders are the clearest example of a society overexploiting their resources (Diamond 119).

Many theories for Greenland Norse’s collapse include extreme climate cooling, extermination by the Inuit (neighboring rivals), abandonment by the mainland Europeans and environmental damage (Diamond 213). The five-point framework can be examined by Greenland Norse collapse. When ice cores were examined, the amount of oxygen found in the ice was notably different; which makes the climate cooling theory very likely (Diamond 217). The Norse greatly damaged their environment by destroying trees and natural vegetation, increasing soil erosion and cutting trees. Deforestation is a monumental problem caused by both core and periphery countries as discussed in the AP Human Geography class. Core countries cause deforestation by cutting down forests for commercial agriculture and infrastructure. Periphery countries cause deforestation by cutting trees for fuel wood. The wood is used as the fuel source because the periphery countries often do not have the money to use natural gas.

The third part in this book discusses the modern societal problems in Africa, Central America, China and Australia. In Africa, there was a huge population explosion due to the adoption of new crops, improved hygiene, preventive medicines, vaccines, antibiotics, control for diseases and fortifying boundaries (Diamond 312). This section discusses Thomas Malthus, an English demographer who argued that if the human population continues to grow exponentially it will outrun the arithmetically growing food production (Diamond 313). There are many skeptics with this theory, especially after the advent of genetically modified food supplies. The Malthusian theory was greatly discussed in the Nature and Society chapter of the AP Human Geography textbook. However, Diamond uses the Malthusian theory to explain the genocides in Rwanda and Burundi. The genocides in Rwanda and Burundi are most often associated with ethnic violence between the Hutu and Tutsi people (Diamond 314). According to Diamond, the pressures due to sudden increases in population might be the single main cause of the genocides (Diamond 327). As Gerard Prunier, a French scholar of East Africa, stated, “The decision to kill was of course made by politicians, for political reasons. But at least part of the reason why it was carried out so thoroughly by ordinary peasants was the feeling that there were too many people on too little land, and that with a reduction in their numbers, there would be more survivors” (Diamond 326). The Malthusian theory seems very apt in explaining the recourse of this genocide.

Central America, the island that is home to both Dominican Republic and Haiti experience two extremely different livelihoods. The Dominican Republic’s per capita income is about five times the per capita income of Haiti (Diamond 330). The main reasons as to why the Dominican Republic became better off than Haiti was due to environmental differences like receiving more rain and therefore supporting higher rates of plant growth and good river systems and high fertile mountains. Haiti is on the leeward side of the mountain and thus gets less rain. There is more limestone terrain in Haiti so the soil is thinner and less fertile, which therefore creates less growing capacity (Diamond 336-340). Rapid deforestation in Haiti has stripped them of most of their timber (Diamond 340). The Dominican Republic has maintained most of its forests while Haiti’s forests are almost gone. Although the book was written in 2005, the chapter of Haiti still bears relevance today. Haiti has become even more devastated and poor due to the massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit in 2010. Haiti’s civilians became so deprived of food after the earthquake that children were seen eating ‘mud cookies’ just to fill their stomach. Environmental factors once again prove to be devastating for Haiti.

 

The scene now shifts to China. With China’s ‘Big and fast’ growing economy and population, the consumption of resources is almost as much as a First World country. This also leads to huge environmental problems. Most Chinese civilians in cities have to wear face masks due to the immense and toxic amounts of air pollution and smog. Many other environmental problems such as eutrophication in the water supply, salinization of rivers and streams and desertification has occurred due to increased pollution (Diamond 365). With the increasing environmental problems, China, and other industrial countries must find an innovative way to deal with it before it gets too out of hand. Scientists and engineers are looking for ways to decrease the amount of harmful gasses and pollution that leave the smokestacks of the industries and factories. Several toxic wastes from electronic gadgets all over the world are dumped in certain backward provinces in China. Many children that grow up in these areas have body deformations and suffer from acute pulmonary stress. The ground water is contaminated and is rendered unusable for agriculture (Powell).

The fourth part of the book is titled Practical Lessons. This section looks at all the factors that have caused the collapses and problems of societies and examine why these societies make such disastrous choices. This section also examines big businesses and their impact on the environment and finally what do all these problems mean for our world today. Diamond begins this section by asking, “How on earth could a society make such an obviously disastrous decision as to cut down all the trees on which it depended?” referring to the Easter Islanders (Diamond 419). Obviously, there is not one answer that will solve all the problems of the world, but there is a roadmap of factors that contribute to the failures of decision making. Failure to anticipate a problem before it arrives, failure to perceive a problem that has arisen, failure to try to solve a problem that is perceived, and/or a flawed solution to the problem are the four points raised by Diamond. In the Easter Island case, the complete deforestation was a result of a competitive spiral between kings and leaders as to who will build the largest and most statue heads, disregarding the environmental damage (Diamond 431). The competitive spiral is a positive feedback loop that is very dangerous. This feedback loop could be seen in our world today as politicians who are just hungry for more power and don’t care about the effects of their actions in the future.  An example of this includes North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-Un. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea often violates the rights of people. Many arbitrary arrests, detention, lack of due process, political prison camps and torture remain serious problems. Food shortages and famine are other serious problems the people of North Korea face. Kim Jong-Un does nothing to help the civilians of his country (Roth). 

Big businesses almost always harm the environment more than they help it. As Diamond states on page 442, “What makes money for a business, at least in the short run, may be harmful for society as a whole”. Businesses always try to maximize their net present value, or what something in the future is worth today. Since the net present value will always be lower than what it begins as, many businesses will try to maximize it by exploiting the environment. Diamond gives examples of big businesses harming the environment by using the case studies of oil fields, hard rock mining sites, logging sites, forest management and the seafood industry. Big businesses might also maximize their profits by outsourcing and offshoring the labor. After the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was approved on January 1, 1994, it allowed many US companies to outsource to Mexico which resulted in increased profits due to cheaper labor. The companies in Mexico near the American borders are called maquiladoras. Critics of NAFTA argue that the maquiladoras take away jobs from the Americans just so they maximize profits for companies. The merits and demerits of NAFTA were profusely discussed in the AP Human Geography class. Diamond’s Collapse has helped reinforce those concepts.

Diamond concludes the book listing some of the serious symptoms of the global environmental sustainability problem and why these problems are very important. The environmental problems include destroying natural habitats at an alarming rate, the depleting wild foods, increased population growth, loss of populations and genetic diversity, soil and wind erosion and soil damage due to human agricultural practices. Other problems include depletion and pollution due to the use of fossil fuels, synthetic materials like plastics harming the earth, invasive and exotic species harming native species (like kudzu), air pollution and emission of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that are destroying the stratospheric ozone layer which blocks the harmful UVB and UVC rays, and finally the negative impact of the population on the environment itself (Diamond 486-500). Diamond concludes the book by stating that he decided to devote most of his career efforts to convince people that our problems have to be taken seriously and won’t go away otherwise. We need to be sensitive of the environments around us using sustainable development and we should be cognizant of the depletion of natural resources, plant more trees, reduce waste and come closer to nature.

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed is an eye opening non-fiction book that enraptures the readers by taking them on a journey back in time to the Easter Island civilization to big businesses of hard rock mining and the logging industries. The five-point framework is an ideal we can use for all problem solving. As future urban developers and planners, students like me can apply the five-point framework to reverse the ‘collapse’ and build a strong foundation that is sustainable. Readers will gain copious amounts of intellectual insight towards many past civilizations along with societies of today. Diamond’s third-person narrative allows the reader to objectively analyze and gain insights from the various facts and examples that he provides. He excels in questioning the chief conflict being whether present nations can last. Reading this book opened my eyes, especially towards the Rwanda and Burundi genocide. Never before did I think of this to be an example towards the Malthusian theory. As a reader, I was able to connect the themes discussed in the book with the topics discussed in the classes I am taking now like AP Human Geography and AP Environmental Science. This is a wonderful book and I recommend it to anyone who is interested about world history and civilizations.

Works Cited

CNN, Library. CNN. 5 October 2013. Web. 8 January 2014.

Diamond, Jared. Collapse. New York: Viking Penguin, 2005. Print.

Powell, Daniel. Our World. 8 April 2013. Web. 8 January 2014. .

Roth, Kenneth. Human Rights Watch. 2012. Web. 7 January 2014. .