My very interesting Conversation with Jared Diamond
Here is the audio, video, and transcript. Here is part of the episode summary: So which leaders do make a difference? Tyler and Jared debate that question, including conditions what a religious founder needs to succeed, whether destructive leaders matter more than constructive ones, why individual leaders have mattered so little in Papua New Guinea, whether we undervalue preventers, how much […]…
In a recent conversation, author and academic Jared Diamond engaged in an interesting discussion with Tyler Cowen about various aspects of leadership and its impact on history. One question posed was which leader Diamond believed to be the least replaceable in human history. Diamond responded that he did not believe any leader was truly unreplaceable, as over time, things tend to even out.
He used examples of Jesus Christ, St. Paul, the Mahdi, and Muhammad as religious leaders, all of whom required a charismatic founder, an organizer, and often a general to succeed. The Mahdi, Muhammad, and Jesus all fulfilled these roles in their respective religions. Diamond acknowledged that Muhammad's birth was a propitious time to found a religion in the region, but we lack information about the weather conditions at the time, which could have greatly influenced his success.
He also compared Genghis Khan's rise to power with other steppe leaders, attributing Khan's achievements to being born in a particularly wet period on the steppes, which allowed for abundant plant growth and a suitable environment for his army. Diamond seemed more optimistic about the environment compared to when he wrote his book Collapse, and he discussed various topics, including the 189 bird species on his street in Los Angeles, the MacArthur "genius grant," and his plans for the coming decades.
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