Cover -- Contents -- Preface and Acknowledgements -- Historical Timeline -- Introduction: The Fabric of History -- 1. Cosmos, Creatures and Consciousness -- 2. Cooperation, Stone, Bone and Dispersal -- 3. The Neolithic Transformation and its Consequences: Settlement, Wealth and Social Differentiation -- 4. Gender Differentiation, Sex and Kindred -- 5. Status Differentiation, Hierarchy and Hegemony -- 6. Exploitation and Violence -- 7. Ethics, Ambitions, Crime and Punishment -- 8. The Origins of Belief in the Supernatural and the First Salvation Religions -- 9. Monotheism -- 10. Imagined Communities: Signs and Symbols, Identities and Nations -- 11. A Broad View - The Rhythm of Empire -- 12. Human Reality in Transformation: Modern Population, Migration and Labour -- 13. Inhuman Powers: Capitalism, Industry and their Consequences -- 14. No Such Thing as a Free Lunch: Trade-Offs, Opportunity Cost and the Dynamic of Unintended Consequences -- 15. Social Critique -- 16. Socialism: Its Promise and Paradox -- 17. Desperately Seeking Significance -- Notes -- Index.
The forces that shape our history are always contentious, yet our fascination with what drives the actions of the human race is inexhaustible. In 'Guns, Germs, and Steel', Jared Diamond proposed one set of forces; Willie Thompson, in 'Work, Sex, and Power', suggests a far more radical and fundamental trio. Deploying decades of experience as a historian, Thompson re-establishes a materialist narrative of the entire span of human history, drawing on a vast range of contemporary research
Introduction: The fabric of history -- Cosmos, creatures and consciousness -- Cooperation, stone, bone and dispersal -- Neolithic transformation and its consequences : settlement, wealth and social differentiation -- Gender differentiation, sex and kindred -- Status differentiation, hierarchy and hegemony -- Exploitation and violence -- Ethics, ambitions, crime and punishment -- Origins of belief in the supernatural and the first salvation religions -- Monotheism -- Imagined communities : signs and symbols, identities and nations -- A broad view : the rhythm of Empire -- Human reality in transformation : modern population, migration and labour -- Inhuman powers : capitalism, industry and their consequences -- No such thing as a free lunch : trade-offs, opportunity cost and the dynamic of unintended consequences -- Social critique -- Socialism : its promise and paradox -- Desperately seeking significance.
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