For him and for history, geography is dynamic. Quite simply, when a region has the right geography, technology, and demography, an empire will emerge there and its leaders will be successful, at least until the three drivers change.Īnother odd feature of Zeihan’s historical view is his deep understanding of geography. Zeihan’s view imposes a more continuous, dynamic view of history, with the interplay between geography, technology, and demography constantly creating new situations with new opportunities and new problems. A view of history as a succession of empires inevitably leads one to a circular view of history, with each empire simply taking the next turn on the wheel. This difference in viewing and understanding history is profound. My deep apologies to Peter Zeihan for this oversimplification because it skips over his prodigious research and powerful synthesis. He sees economic activity as the natural byproduct of these fundamental forces. He sees history as the inevitable result of the dynamic interplay of geography, technology and demography. In contrast to other historians and futurologists, the author does not see history as a succession of empires, like a parade of elephants, each lasting 150-300 years. History Through the Lens of Geography, Technology, and Demography Because the world–our world–is breaking apart. Instead of cheap and better and faster, we’re rapidly transitioning into a world that’s pricier and worse and slower. The world of the past few decades has been the best it will ever be in our lifetime. We have been living in the perfect moment. But there is a simple fact that is often overlooked. All of these evolutions and more are tightly interwoven. Historically speaking, we live in an embarrassment of riches and peace. During the past seven decades, as a percent of the population, fewer people have died in fewer wars and fewer occupations and fewer famines and fewer disease outbreaks than since the dawn of recorded history. The human condition has similarly improved. It isn’t simply about stuff and speed and memory. Section I briefly reviews the last century of progress: cheaper, better, much faster, and so much more. Section I lays out the premise and each following section drills deeply into how global changes will drive the future in a specific area. When I raise objections in my mind, he pulls out charts, tables, graphs and then says, “This conclusion is not a forecast. Often he presents startling, scary, unpleasant conclusions. He disguises his incredible depth of research with an easy, casual writing style. In this book Peter Zeihan really does forecast the end of the world and what comes after. Geography, Demography, Technology, Pax Americana, Free Money, and Cheap Energy.

The end is just the beginning zeihan