A Brief History of the Human Race etc

Michael Cook promotes some ideas similar to Guns, Germs and Steel (see below) in his book A Brief History of the Human Race. The fact that Eurasians developed arms and ships by which they conquered much of the rest of the world is due to good grain (enables farming), horses (enable efficient warfare) and iron (enables tools and weapons). One could, of course, ponder what could have happened if the Mongolians conquered Europe in the 14th century.

Well, here we go again. I tried to trace a book about ethics I borrowed from CERN library some years ago and cannot find it. The author discussed for instance a tribe called !Kung (Jared Diamond mentions them, too) and concludes that their code of behaviour does not emphasise honesty. Thus, their trade is not likely to thrive. Thus, other societies that value honesty are likely to develop faster. This might be a good, old fashioned idea but somehow I'm not convinced. After all, !Kung are hunter gatherers and their society is controlled by a different kind of ethos than agricultural societies.