McNeill's "Empire and Nation to 1750" defines and expresses the concept of polyethnicity as an inevitable and natural development. Through nomadic conquests, urbanization, disease, slavery, and international commerce, a spread of people and cultures emerged. In "Triumph of Nationalism," McNeill explores the rise of ethnic solidarity and national independence due to population expansion, technological improvements that enhanced and implemented communication methods as well as necessity for an indistinguishable language.
McNeill's suggestion that the Chinese attained the greatest degree of cohesion in its civilization due to Confucianism is quite interesting because his reasoning behind that suggestion correlates with Brin's third worldview, The East.
Admittedly, some of McNeill's word choices felt quite problematic, specifically "civilized" and "barbaric." Those words, particularly the latter, created a jarring reading experience. However, "civilized" and "barbaric" illustrates a condescension that fits nicely with his contention that "civilized socieites have nearly always subordinated some human groups to others of a different ethnic background, thereby creating a laminated polyethnic structure." I guess I would eliminate the word civilized in that contention.
-Lolia
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