PROMPT:

"Compare, contrast, and critically Evaluate Jared Diamond, Ian Morris, and
Robert Gordon in analyzing the causes and consequences of the pace and
pattern of growth."

Outline:

Intro: Over this course we have read and listened to the arguments from Robert Gordon, Jared
Diamond, and Ian Morris in regard to the historical upticks and trends in economic growth.

Thesis: These three authors use geographic and technological features in a historical
context to evaluate economic outcomes for different periods of time.

Diamond Perspective: Geographical location + advantage

Gordon Perspective: Technological perspective

Morris Perspective: Geographical advantage led to previous economic success, but

technological (specifically information-based) advantages will define economic prosperity for the
future.

Conclusion:

Kara: Jared Diamond

Jared Diamond's initial interest in geography and its impact on economic and societal
growth was sparked in New Guinea. Diamond began with the question, if “people have been
living in New Guinea for at least 40,000 years, much longer than the continents of North and
South America…why are they so much poorer than the people in the Americas.” (cite) Over the
course of 30 years, Diamond traveled the globe seeking an answer to this question, in hope of
finding the root to “why human history unfolded differently on the different continents.” (cite)
Diamond began by understanding why the people of New Guinea still practice hunting
and gathering as means of survival. Historically, it is one of the least productive means of
sustaining a population, especially in New Guinea where the environment around them offers
very few edible options. So, what makes them continue this practice? That, in itself, leads
Diamond to his golden answer; geographic location is the culprit for the lack of modern
economic and societal growth in certain regions of the world, including New Guinea. Diamond
looks back to early hunter gatherers of the Middle East where nutrition was more easily
accessible through diverse selection of plants and grains. The Middle East, due to its
geographical location and available resources, became home to some of the world's first
civilizations. Grains were easily stored and used throughout different seasons, allowing people
to put down roots and build more permanent structures. These small, permanent civilizations
moved onto new forms of food production, farming both crops and animals. Through the
domestication of small animals such as goats and sheep, nutrition and protein was more
accessible than ever before. The time and energy saved by farming allowed people to develop
specializations and make new discoveries of medicine and tools. Diamond attributes this
growth not to early Middle Easterners being a superior or more intelligent race, but to their
geographic location. In contrast, New Guinea has few edible plants, of which expire quickly and
cannot be stored for seasons at a time. The geographic location also doesn’t provide larger
animals of which could be domesticated and farmed. Their lack of geographic resources served
as an economic developmental disadvantage.

Josh: Morris

Ian Morris argues that geography explains historical social development and that this
social development would come to redefine geography. This argument is constructed in a way
that can effectively aid in measuring future economic outcomes. Morris defined social
development as a scale which measures a society based on its ability to capture energy,
organize itself, make war (expand), and maintain information. Primary differences in social
development can be explained by geographical features. The fundamental basis of today’s
society is agrarian. This was a result of the geographical wildlife. As these societies began to
flourish, they developed necessary technologies for shaping less hospitable areas in the vicinity.
Ships and guns seem to be the most significant technological advancements as they allowed
people to reshape geography most effectively. Europeans colonized the Americas because of
geographical advantage. Asia did not colonize the Americas as their geographical position was
less ideal for this type of behavior. Much of the differences in social and economic development
between the East and West can be summed up as being a result of geography. Likewise, these
developments seem to occur in a pattern of rising, stagnating, and then falling. Over the last
century, the West has seen a massive upsurge in social development. Following the established
patterns of social development, Morris anticipates that the East will surpass the West in the next
century.

Hannah: Gordon (combustion engine)

The internal combustion engine was invented by Karl Benz in the year 1880, and since then
technology has improved leaps and bounds. The combustion engine revolutionized the 1800’s,
shortly after the development of the engine most horse drawn carriages were replaced with
motorized vehicles. The replacement of horses had lots of benefits, because there were very
few horses walking the street the amount of manure in the road dropped substantially which
improved public health. Gordon briefly talked about the huge improvement in streets after
horses were replaced, “The invention and diffusion of the internal combustion engine utterly
transformed the streets of the American city and town in those twenty years from rutted and
pitted quagmires of mud, clogged with animal waste, to paved roads along which motor vehicles
cruised just as they do today”. The invention of the internal combustion engine later inspired the
making of lots of other technology, like the 6 cylinder and 4 cylinder engine which are used in
cars today. One of the only consequences of this invention is what it has done to the earth with
the pollutants coming from cars today. But, the improvements have outweighed the
consequences; Gordon shows lots of evidence to prove this and says, “the internal combustion
engine, radically improved the standard of living through a series of changes that could happen
only once”.

Claire: Gordon (household innovations)

Gordon believes that the development of the urban house is revolutionary and can never be
repeated. As the urban home starts to be connected to electricity, running water, sewer, heat,
and telephones, more people start to move into the city. From 1870 to 1940, the percentage of
Americans who lived in the city doubled to 57%. As for small-town homes, it was not as
accessible in the beginning to get electricity, running water, and other networks to homes, but by
1940 most of the transitions occurred in rural areas.
Gordon elaborates in his ideas by touching on the topic of equality. He believes that
access to these networks allows equality between the rich and the poor. As each home, starts to
connect to electricity, heat, and all of the other networks, the poor and the rich are able to
receive the same access to their homes. This equality allows the need for physical labor and
servant work to decrease because of how accessible the resources were. Although the equality
of classes is a positive outcome, there was also a higher increase in pollution. Gordon relays
that the transition out of kerosene lamps to coal-fired electricity caused pollution to go from
“inside the home to outside”. The carbon emissions into the atmosphere have increased since
the use of kerosene lamps has decreased. Gordon’s opinion is that that the standard of living
increased substantially between 1870 and 1940 as well as many of the modern conveniences
were made available by the networks of electricity, running water, sewer, heat, and telephones.

Alvaro:

Introduction:
Throughout the history of humankind, economic growth has always been influenced by
different factors and causes. This has always been a topic of discussion within the field
of economics, and many have tried explaining the causes and consequences that have
led to different positive and negative economic effects in the US economy.
Knowledgeable and reputable economists like Jared Diamond, Ian Morris, and Robert
Gordon have issued different publications in order to explain and elaborate on the origins
and effects of economic growth throughout human history. While Jared Diamond and
Morris both believe growth is dependent and shaped by Geography and vice versa,
Gordon explores growth as a product of technological advancements.
 From the domestication of animals, to the invention of the combustion engine, these
three authors use geographic and tec`hnological features in a historical context to
evaluate economic outcomes for different periods of time.

Conclusion:
- Restate the thesis and divisions of the essay
- Bring the essay to an appropriate and effective close
- Avoid digressing into new issues