Looking at the world today, many societies are at different levels of development. Nevertheless, such difference is not as diverse as it was through history, where advancements of particular nations in sciences were paralleled with other nations still relying on hunting to exist. This paper analyzes the factors behind the difference in development patterns among societies, stating that such difference is related to geographical differences as the basis for the building of civilization, as well as human factors.
The first factors that traditionally were outlined as influencing the development of societies were geographical location and climate (COHEN, 1998). These factors can be seen reasonable, looking at many civilizations, where the combination of climate and suitable geographical locations allowed the people to settle and form communities as a starting point. The same point was outlined IN the book “Guns, Germs and Steel” (1997) by Jared Diamond, where the author concluded that “geography is the key to the pace and timing of economic development.” (COHEN, 1998).
Another factor that should be mentioned is timing. It can be assumed that from the time a population settled, learned to cultivate and harvest, and domesticated animals, a specific time passed. Thus, the difference in the starting points might have lead to different societies reaching a certain point of development at different times. Similarly, at any chosen point of time, the same societies were at different stages of development.
It should be mentioned that the natural advantages at the starting points of development might be influenced by human factors. These factors might include wars, colorizations, slavery and migration, all of which contribute to the acceleration the development for one society and delay for another. An interesting point is mentioned by James Blaut, who wrote ”The Colonizer’s Model of the World: Geographic Diffusionism and Eurocentric History” (1993), as he states that at some point an influencing factor was the closeness to the new world. Being at the same level of development, Europe was closer to the New World, and “[t]hrough a combination of looting and mining, the amount of gold and silver in circulation probably doubled between the years 1500 and 1600… Europe got it all free.“ (COHEN, 1998).
In that regard, the absence of uniformity can be related to a combination of those factors, and the level of communication among these societies. Each population exploited the natural resources of the environment they settled in or conquered. The cycle of development can be seen identical, where the first nation that reached an upper stage of power in this cycle, attempted to conquer other areas, and by doing so hampering the development of other societies. In that regard, a similar situation can be seen today. Different countries at different stages of development, and with many countries being superior in development, affect the societies that were developing naturally. Accordingly, it can be assumed that a total uniformity might not be reached any time soon.
It can be concluded that the development pattern of different societies was affected by the initial natural advantages available to each society. Such diversity led to that the development of the society differed from nation to nation. The human factor was no less important in changing the development level, which can be seen through great civilizations falling behind at different points in history.
References
COHEN, P. (1998). Geography Redux: Where You Live Is What You Are. New York Times Web.