Jared Diamond鈥檚 classic , about why some societies and not others gained wealth and power, is a book that many thinking Americans display but fewer have actually read. That often leads to erroneous-allusion syndrome鈥攖he justification of half-baked theories with the phrase 鈥…as Diamond pointed out in Guns, Germs and Steel.鈥 Just ask Mitt Romney, who bungled a Diamond talking point about natural resources back in July and earned a rebuke from the author. To save you similar embarrassment, Bruce Barcott synopsizes key lessons from Diamond鈥檚 new book, , which identifies old-time practices that can still benefit us.
WE SHOULD: Exercise, eat slowly, talk with friends鈥攖hese features of tribal life kept people healthy and happy.
WE SHOULDN鈥橳: Romanticize tribal culture, which wasn鈥檛 always groovy. Ritual widow strangling, once practiced by the Kaulong of New Guinea, did not, thankfully, survive the tribe鈥檚 transition to modernity.
WE SHOULD: Raise multilingual children. This 鈥渂rings long-term benefits to their thinking, as well as enriching their lives.鈥
WE SHOULDN鈥橳: Enforce mandatory retirement. In oral cultures, older people are 鈥渟ociety鈥檚 encyclopedias and libraries.鈥 They remember things like where to find food when times get tough. Or why we passed the in the first place.