Most people in the world today think democracy and gender equality are good, and that violence and wealth inequality are bad. But most people who lived during the 10,000 years before the nineteenth century thought just the opposite. Drawing on archaeology, anthropology, biology, and history, Ian Morris explains why. Fundamental long-term changes in

Most people in the world today think democracy and gender equality are good, and that violence and wealth inequality are bad. But most people who lived during the 10,000 years before the nineteenth century thought just the opposite. Drawing on archaeology, anthropology, biology, and history, Ian Morris explains why. Fundamental long-term changes in values, Morris argues, are driven by the most basic force of all: energy. Humans have found three main ways to get the energy they need--from foraging, farming, and fossil fuels. Each energy source sets strict limits on what kinds of societies can succeed, and each kind of society rewards specific values. But if our fossil-fuel world favors democratic, open societies, the ongoing revolution in energy capture means that our most cherished values are very likely to turn out not to be useful any more

"I couldn't more warmly recommend. . . . [This book is] the product of a lifetime's personal experience, mixed with a vast body of research, then distilled through the hand of a gifted wordsmith. It's a book that will help you understand how values-and with them, the world we know today-came to be, and how they evolved through time. . . . Most of all, Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels will show you that apart from a few biologically 'hardwired' ones it's the daily churn of society, not some ultimate authority or moral compass, that dictates our values-that's a very liberating realization."---Alexandru Micu, ZME Science