It got to be large-scale later on, but I was referring primarily to tribalist early conflicts prevelant throught North and South america, which remained the normal pattern in some areas into the 19th century. The Aztecs were definitely present, but they did, of course, fall apart under the weight of Spanish incursions.
Could we, like, get this thread back to Iraq and its people’s current job prospects, etc.?
I have little to contribute on current economic indicators in Iraq, and in fact I would counsel caution when considering such figures at the moment. We’ve got pessimists commenting one way, some US-linked sources waving flags of exuberance, and more objective reporters and economists stuck in the middle trying to work at the problem.
I would, however, like to see smiling bandit defend his thesis in a dedicated thread. His focus has moved quite far away from the original claim I questioned, and a lot of the arguments he puts forward seem quite arbitrary on closer analysis. For example, "The Middle East [is] so violence-prone because of the failure of any one power or powers to establish and maintain a long-term dominance, either culturally, politically, or militarily. "
That’s only true in terms of recent history, roughly since World War I when many Middle Eastern lands came under foreign occupaton and the problems began in earnest. On the subject of war, for example, the contact between Moslems and Christians during the Crusades leave few doubts that Europeans were indeed savage and barbaric (from their abysmal personal hygiene to taking detours on the way to the Holy Land in order to slaughter Jewish communities).
And, as I said earlier, such things were institutionalized in the lands of the Islamic empire long before they developed in warlike Europe. Unlike in Europe, Jews were not outcasts, there were strict rules governing warfare and POWs, the rule of law was more or less intact, the killing of innocents or non-combatants was proscribed, etc.
I think you are giving too much weight to relatively recent developments in the Middle East, and extrapolating backwards. Sorry for the hijack.
You shouldn’t bother. Twas a joke, a takeoff on “My post is my cite.”