“Of course, though, people with long-term stakes don’t always act wisely.  Often they still prefer short-term goals, and often again they do things that are foolish in both the short term and the long term.  That’s what makes biography and history infinitely more complicated and less predictable than the courses of chemical reactions, and that’s why this book doesn’t preach environmental determinism.  Leaders who don’t just react passively, who have the courage to anticipate crises or to act early, and who make strong insightful decisions of top-down management really can make a huge difference to their societies.  So can similarly courageous, active citizens practicing bottom up management.”

pg. 306

Jared Diamond