's
is an extremely long and complex book. His overarching claim is that
differences in the degrees of material wealth and technological development between regions are
grounded in geography more than in innate disparities in intellect or diligence or in cultural
factors.
The first major strength of this claim is its ethical and political
consequences. It provides a solid substrate for invalidating many forms of prejudice,
stereotyping, and discrimination. On these very general lines, it is also supported by our
intuitions and personal experiences. Most of us who travel widely or know people from many
different cultures have met smart, hardworking, decent people (and the opposite) from many
different cultures, regions, and ethnic backgrounds. The next strength of the theory is that it
provides and simple and coherent account of widely observable phenomena.
The major weakness of the theory is, in a sense, also a consequence of its major strength.
It...
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