My cynical take on the last 5'000 years of civilizational musical
chairs:
Like social darwinists[0], each civilization that finds itself
solidly athwart the nexus of a significant trade network generates
writers who ascribe this dominance to essential cultural[1] , rather
than accidental technical or geographical, aspects.
They are, of course, desperately afraid that the currently non-
dominant cultures do not understand this argument, and will
outcompete them...
-Dave
[0] who are desperately afraid that the unfit will outbreed the fit
[1] was the renaissance a result of native humanism recovering from
vandalism, or simply the result of an influx of civilized refugees
from the (other, longer-lived) roman empire, taking refuge with their
former trading partners somewhere in the sticks?
