Which evils of modern society does Mr. Diamond cite as evidence that the Neolithic Revolution was a negative event in the history of mankind?

The evils of modern society referred to by Jared Diamond in his article "The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race" are:

Population GrowthHealth IssuesGross social and sexual inequalityDespotism

In his article, he describes the above challenges as a  fall out of the Neolithic Revolution. The Neolithic Revolution is none other than the discovery of Agriculture by man.

His article visits evidence upon evidence using evolution, and findings from archeology to buttress his points.

1. Population Growth: His interpretation of this is that because man discovered agriculture, he shelved his nomadic lifestyle (hunting and gathering) in favor of sedentary existence. Because man no longer migrated from place to place, population density triggered around the location where he chose to settle.

2. James cites the following as evidence that agriculture created an upward trajectory in the occurrence of health issues:

first, while the nomadic man (hunter and gatherer) had and ate a variety of foods the sedentary (agriculturer) was limited to just a few carbohydrates (starch) based crops. Of course, this is an approximation but the point is very clear and near to the truth. second, increases in population densities leading to the spread of parasites and infectious diseases; third, the risk of death increased because of the dependence on just a few varieties of crops to propagate.

3. James also posited that despotism and inequality are fallouts of Agriculture. Hunters and gathers, according to him, have no need to store food for prolonged periods of time. They depended on fresh intake of nutrients. Nature held the power of ownership of resources. Hence, there were no class divisions such as the rich and the poor, the weak and the powerful (politically speaking).

4. He also posited that under the nomadic culture, the job of the woman was mostly to transport babies as the tribes moved from one location to the other. Under the agricultural system, women became more like beasts of burden tasked with various kinds of agricultural routines including carrying very heavy loads from farm to sites of residence.

Learn more about the Neolithic Revolution here:

Prioritizing is the answer

Students need to change their attitude