One of Diamond's arguments that I find least convincing is
his argument (as at the end of Chapter 6) that farming societies will always defeat
nomadic societies.
Perhaps the clearest example that could
be used to try to refute this argument is the example of the Mongols. The Mongols were
a nomadic people who essentially did not farm. Even so, they were somehow able to use
their mobility and their political organization (which Diamond says should not be very
advanced in hunter-gatherer societies) to conquer a major empire within relatively
modern times.
Of course, the Mongols did have domesticated
animals, but they were not a sedentary society and did not raise crops. This should
have disadvantaged them according to Diamond. The fact that they were so successful
seems to indicate that there may be a problem with this aspect of Diamond's
argument.
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