6. Democracy

I think a 5th century BCE Athenian would have mixed feelings about the democracy we use today in the United States. He would probably not like that the term the president serves is four years because the ruler might get too much power and become corrupt, which has happen multiple times in Athenian society. A 5th century BCE Athenian might like that the United States form of Democracy picks representatives to make decisions, instead of everyone having to take a day off to come and meet and discuss issues. On the other hand, they also might not like it because your individual voice would not be heard, but instead the representatives. I think the higher educated and richer class of Athens would like the United States form of government more than the poorer class because the richer class would have more say, they can get jobs in the government and be representatives, but no one would elect the poor, uneducated Athenian. I think the poorer class of Athens would prefer their form of democracy because their voice would be directly heard.

5. Mayan Values in Modern Day

Although we do not see much Mayan architecture and artwork being done in modern day, Mayan food is still being made today, soccer is also being played, which is similar to the old Mayan ball game. Mayan food can be found in restaurants all over America, their food includes a lot of corn, they made things like tacos, Mayan food also includes a lot of beans and squash. The food that Mayans made can be found in almost all Mexican and South American restaurants today. Another way Mayan values are exemplified in todays society is through soccer, soccer is fairly similar to an old ball game the Mayans played. The Mayan's ball game was between two teams. There was a rubber ball and the objective was to make a ball through a hoop, without using your hands or feet, you were supposed to use your knees, elbows, hips, or head. The two sports are similar because they both are both team sports where you have to make a ball though a hole and in both you couldn't use your hands, you can also use your head in both of them. So although there isn't that much Mayan influence in modern day, we still eat the same food and play similar ball games.

4. Chinese Philpsophies

Although Mohism makes the people much happier, I think Legalism was a better way to keep and maintain order. Mohism was all about spreading universal love and how everyone should love each other equally. Mohism also says that people shouldn't think evil thoughts. Legalism was almost the complete opposite, it believed in strict government with punishments. They also believed in war and violence and that people were selfish. Legalism also said that common people don't have a say in the governments decisions, it was a dictatorship. I think Legalism is a more effective way to keep order because people would be afraid to commit crimes and would not overthrow the government, Mohism on the other hand, people were more free to do what they wanted, this it probably what the people want but, it makes it harder to maintain order. Also, Mohism was probably not very strong in war, while Legalists were strong in war because they believed that war was good and taking over other countries showed power. So while Mohism is what most people would prefer, Legalism is a stronger and more effective way to keep order in the government.

3. A Good Ruler

I think the most effective way for a ruler to maintain order is he can't be too nice, but he also can't be too strict, he has to fall somewhere in the middle. I think the ruler must have the respect of the people and the peoples' trust. For example, Barack Obama is very close to his fellow Americans, he goes out and plays basketball with the troops and even goes out and walks his dog, like a regular person. Obama really shows that he is one of the people and this helps Americans trust him. A good ruler also needs to be strong, he needs to show other countries that if they mess with his country, there will be war. And lastly a good ruler needs to know how to keep control, he needs to know how to make decisions for the army. He also needs to control the crimes going on in his county and make consequences for people who break the rules.

2. Jared Diamond's Thesis

I agree with Jared Diamond's thesis that powerful civilizations are formed by geographical luck. For a civilization to be strong and prosper they must have good crops and good agricultural land. This makes them more powerful because that way the civilization can spread and share their ideas with other places. If you want to be a strong civilization you also have to have a good location, you can't be locked from the rest of society, like on an island because then no one can get their new ideas and information to you. Being in a good location with multiple other civilizations near by make it easy to conquer them, if your civilization is strong. I think Jared Diamond is right with his thesis that in order for a civilization to prosper it needs geographical luck.

1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Farming

I don't think the advantages of agriculture and farming over weigh the disadvantages. In my opinion farming is a better way to get food than hunting and gathering. Farming is a reliable way to know that you will get food, while hunting and gathering is very unreliable, for example one day you might get lucky and find a lot of vegetation and meat, but other days there may be none. For farming you don't have to look for food, you just have to go and pick the food. The only disadvantages that I can think of that farming has is it is very expensive to start and hard to maintain, but even with that I think it is much better than going out and hunting and gathering. Now that people have technology such as tractors and plows to run their farms it makes them much easier to run and now we have no need for hunting and gathering.