24637: Hugues (comment): whole chapter on Haiti and the DR in Jared Diamond's "Collapse

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From Hugues Saint-Fort: <<Hugo274@aol.com <mailto:Hugo274@aol.com>>>

In Jared Diamond's most recent book entitled : "/Collapse: How Societies 
Choose to Fail or Succeed"/ (Viking, 2005), there is a whole chapter 
entirely devoted to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Chapter 11, 
p.329-357 is entitled "One Island, Two Peoples, Two Histories: The 
Dominican Republic and Haiti" and constitutes one example among several 
others brought by Diamond to show "what happens when we squander our 
resources, when we ignore the signals our environment gives us, and when 
we ...cut down too many trees." This short case study has, however, some 
methodological flaws. In this comparison, Diamond extends his analysis 
on the Dominican Republic and writes only 5 or 6 full pages on Haiti. 
But the  questions he asks in the beginning of his chapter on Haiti and 
the DR are very interesting. On Page 333, he writes: "For anyone 
inclined to caricature environmental history as "environmental 
determinism", the contrasting histories of the Dominican Republic and 
Haiti provide a useful antidote. Yes, environmental problems do 
constrain human societies, but *the societies' responses also make a 
difference.* (my emphasis). So, too, for better or for worse, do the 
actions and inactions of their leaders."

Hugues Saint-Fort