Society Types (the series)

Coming to grips with a critical concept for understanding human history

A critical concept for understanding human history and how modern progress evolved out of millennia of absolute poverty is “Society Type.” This concept makes all the confusing details of history (names, dates, events) far more understandable.

This article links the articles that I have written about Society Types. I try to make each article self-standing, but I would recommend reading the articles in the displayed order.

Enjoy reading!

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Table of Contents for the “Society Types” series:

1. Understanding the concept of Society Types and why it matters:

   1. Why you need to know about Society Types.

   2. All of human history in one graphic

   3. Does Progress always move in a straight line?

   4. Virtually all useful energy comes from the sun

2. Types of Societies:

   1. Hunter-Gatherer societies

   2. Fishing societies

   3. Herding societies

   4. Horticultural societies (agriculture by hand tools only)

   5. Agrarian societies (agriculture with animal-traction plows)

      1. Why Agrarian societies dominated recorded history for nearly 5000 years

      2. How Agrarian societies stifled innovation

   6. Commercial societies (which invented modern progress)

      1. Plus an entire series of articles about Commercial societies.

   7. Industrial societies (which we live in today)

3. Why the Legacy of Society Types still matters today:

   1. Why our deep history explains global inequality

   2. The Global Spread of Industrialization

   3. The National Progress Queue: Why Nations Industrialize in a Predictable Order

   4. Does the origin of agriculture explain global inequality today?

4. more articles on the topic

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If you enjoyed reading this series of articles, you might also be interested in reading my “From Poverty to Progress” book series: