Great piece. Since you are reading Bookchin on dialectical naturalism, you might find it rewarding to contrast him with Jared Diamond’s "Guns, Germs, and Steel."
Diamond brilliantly debunks racist myths of European superiority, proving human potential is equal everywhere.
Having said that, his framework has a massive blind spot: It completely erases class struggle and human agency, reducing global inequality to geographic accidents.
Diamond falls into a flat, mechanical determinism based on mere geography. He completely glosses over internal class conflicts, the exploitation of labor, and the conscious, violent decisions by ruling classes to expand.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm familiar with Diamond and the book "Guns, Germs, and Steel" and read it, I believe shortly after the 2nd U.S. attack on Iraq, after 9/11. I know the book had a lot of influence in some circles and your critique highlighting its strengths and blind spots are spot on from what I recall. Maybe, yes, it might be an opportunity to revisit that work. Another similar book that uses biological and evolutionary evidence to debunk racist myths is "The Mismeasure of Man" by Stephen Jay Gould. That was a work that challenged works like "The Bell Curve" that attempted to make scientific justifications for white supremacy.
Great piece. Since you are reading Bookchin on dialectical naturalism, you might find it rewarding to contrast him with Jared Diamond’s "Guns, Germs, and Steel."
Diamond brilliantly debunks racist myths of European superiority, proving human potential is equal everywhere.
Having said that, his framework has a massive blind spot: It completely erases class struggle and human agency, reducing global inequality to geographic accidents.
Diamond falls into a flat, mechanical determinism based on mere geography. He completely glosses over internal class conflicts, the exploitation of labor, and the conscious, violent decisions by ruling classes to expand.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm familiar with Diamond and the book "Guns, Germs, and Steel" and read it, I believe shortly after the 2nd U.S. attack on Iraq, after 9/11. I know the book had a lot of influence in some circles and your critique highlighting its strengths and blind spots are spot on from what I recall. Maybe, yes, it might be an opportunity to revisit that work. Another similar book that uses biological and evolutionary evidence to debunk racist myths is "The Mismeasure of Man" by Stephen Jay Gould. That was a work that challenged works like "The Bell Curve" that attempted to make scientific justifications for white supremacy.