Agricultural Revolution

From Weekly I/O#47


The Agricultural Revolution was history's biggest fraud. Compared to foragers, farmers worked harder but with less return.

Book: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

When thinking of the agricultural revolution, we usually think it is a grand achievement for humans. However, Harari has a different perspective.

The agricultural revolution certainly increased the sum of food for humankind. However, this didn't translate into a better diet or more leisure. On the contrary, the average farmers worked harder than the average foragers but got a worse diet.

The author contends that the revolution indeed led to population explosions, but the quality of life for people was lower. It also creates wealth inequality with more pampered elites. What we usually thought about the Agricultural Revolution was history's biggest fraud.


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