Is Geography Destiny?
There is a very important and controversial saying of Ibn Khaldun, a political philosopher born in Tunisia in 1332: “Is geography is destiny?” What do you think?
Neither of us has chosen to come into the world, nor can we choose where we are born on earth. It is clear that the fate of a child born into war in Syria today and a child born in Denmark will not be the same. So is a child born in China and a child born in Venezuela.
The place where you were born would seriously affect your future. I’m not saying it affects completely, of course, if someone born in the Middle East or Africa could come to good places in the future, someone born in Scandinavia could become very desperate. But luck is the key here, and it’s clear that one needs more luck than the other.
Geography determines the destiny of the society, not human. Geography does not shape man, it shapes society first. On the other hand, the society shapes the human being. If geography offers certain riches or privileges to society, the people of that society better meet their basic needs and go further in the way of developing and realizing themselves.
There are many striking examples in this regard both in history and today. Athens, the first society in which democracy developed, is one of the most important examples of this in history. Athens and similar ancient Greek…
