Social inequality has been a debated topic for thousands of years and remains a very fluid topic today. It is fair to assume that there is no defining reason for why some societies have progressed more quickly than others, because we can simply give a theory for why we see advanced, industrialized states; while other societies have failed to implement the technology often assumed in modernized nations. Jared Diamond, professor of geography and physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, has spent much of his adult life researching the reasons why social inequality exists. What Diamond theorized, through his extensive study of the hunter-gatherer societies of tribal Papua New Guinea and his later study of ancient Eurasian societies, was that the environment that linked these cultures was the only reason for which they have progressed or not towards a modern world. State. Opponents of Diamond's theory have proposed different theories, ranging from the society's religious beliefs to whether or not the society practiced an egalitarian lifestyle, all of which can be debated as to the justifiable causes of social inequality . Others think Diamond's theory is too obscure, arguing that a society's ability to adapt and utilize its natural environment is too simplistic an explanation for a problem for which there is no definitive answer. So the question remains: why have some societies progressed faster than others? Agreeing with Diamond's theory, I believe the answer lies solely in a given society's ability to farm, and, just as importantly, in the type of agriculture that each culture's environment offers them. Nutritional resources are of great importance in Diamond's theory as to why certain societies have progressed. faster than others...... middle of paper ...... effort or innovation, the environment surrounding your culture, and many other societies still facing social inequalities, do not not ready for appropriate expansion.ReferencesCooper, Zarine. “Archaeology and History: Early Settlements in the Andaman Islands.” » Journal of Asian Studies 63.3 (2004): 820-822. JSTOR. Internet. April 25, 2012. .Diamond, Jared. Guns, germs and steel. Tim Lambert James Gold. PBS. YouTube. Internet. April 22, 2012. .Harris, Marvin and Orna Johnson. Cultural anthropology. 7th ed. 2000. Boston: Pearson, 2007. N. pag. Print.Nanda, Serena and Richard Warms. “Tribal war”. Cultural anthropology. 10th ed. 2010. Np: np, 2010. 245. books.com. Internet. May 2, 2012. Richerson. “Horticultural Societies.” online books. Np, and Web. May 2 2012. .