I know this may be a little hard to digest
We’d like to think our own people are special
But the truths of history do seem to suggest
That location is what sets the level
(Of cultural and economic development)

A new discovery shakes the known world of man
Domestication of horses brings upheaval
Central Asians conquer with their cavalry van
Creating brand new geo polities
(New heirarchies and super hegemonies)

Migrations, intermingling of old and new
Elamites become Persian, Minoans become Greek
Skill and wealth move to where they feel they’ll get their due
In search for a more profitable streak

The discovery of sailing the monsoon winds
Now sea trade becomes more profitable than land
The old order crumbles, for progress here rescinds
The power of past authority, buried in sand

The discovery of motorized transport
Is the paradigm we’re living in today
And just as with all of history’s previous diction
It’s about location, location, location

Image: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2014/01/02/edward_quin_a_gif_of_his_atlas_displaying_the_boundaries_of_the_known_world.html

(This poem is a bit all over the place. I guess it would make more sense to write it as an essay, but I’d have found that an extremely boring task.

I find that China is a peculiar exception to this phenomenon, or at least it used to be.)