Harari discusses how Homo Sapiens were able to move from small hunter gather societies, usually comprised of 50-100 people, to larger more complex societies. Insects live in large communities. But in inflexible ways. Homo Sapiens are unique in our ability to live in large and complex communities in flexible ways. How did this come about? How were […]
The remarkable thought of Yuval Harari- Part 1 Introduction
There are many short histories of the world and histories of philosophy. Where to start? Some historians just write well without necessarily focussing on particular themes- Geoffrey Blainey is an example. Ian Morris and Jarod Diamond explore why the West developed before other parts of the world. Jarod Diamond argues for the primacy of geographical factors. He points to […]
China and Climate Change- the Grounds for Hope and Scepticism
It is hard to do anything other than welcome the recent pledge by China and the USA, the world’s top carbon emitters, to work together to combat climate change. But in China’s case there are grounds for scepticism as well as hope. Elizabeth Economy has chronicled China’s environmental history in her 2004 book ‘The River […]
Obesity
Since the World Health Organisation recognised first recognised obesity as a growing health problem in 1980, no country has succeeded in reducing obesity rates. Capitalism promotes the benefits of competition. Undoubtedly there are some. But as long as there are profits to be made from it, competition among food companies will lead them to resist regulation and to […]
Another Great Capitalist Innovation
We all know about sub-prime home loans in the USA. Now there are sub-prime car loans- Loans to lower income earners with poor credit ratings. The loans are secured by a technological innovation. Using GPS systems to track the vehicle, lenders are now able to deactivate the vehicle remotely should payments be missed. The deactivation device is […]
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