It feels like the year of the political scientist was announced, but I was not informed. There is simply no escape from political news. They come up every once in a while. Yes, even during gatherings with friends, someone will try to raise the latest political news. People are just so drawn to discuss the current political agenda. And it's like, there's nothing new in all of this. For generations, journalists have been doing nothing but pouring old political cliches from empty to empty. But today, the flow of this nonsense has become something just incredibly large-scale. Most of all, the eyes on the forehead climb from the fact that countless analysts and experts of financial markets tirelessly scribble texts about politics. At the same time, they do not even address economic issues in their publications. That is, about Finance without Economics, and this is complete nonsense. But the worst thing is that when they affect the economy, it is only in the sense that this policy has affected this and that, as if the economy is the result of politics. No, I understand that this idea is quite logical in the mass consciousness. However, this is a consequence of Occam's excessive fascination with the razor. At some point, they cut off something wrong. But people who should understand the economy simply have no right to make such a mistake. The fact is that the statement that the economy is the result of a cap makes as much sense as the thesis that the sun shines only because there are people who look at it. The opposite is true. This politics is the result of the economy, in a broader sense, the economic basis. And this is proved very, very simply.
Take the conquest of Genghis Khan as an example. Quite often you can find such an idea that he is some great conqueror who wanted to take over the whole world. And he did everything to achieve this great dream, certainly not shying away from all sorts of atrocities and mass murders, accompanied by the destruction of entire cities and even peoples. In general, some kind of maniac, and just a ghoul. So, shortly before this, another climate optimum occurred on Earth. That is until the Earth has become warmer. Warmer than it is now. This led to an increase in precipitation and more humidification of the steppe. Because of this, there was more grass, and it was much juicier. This grass becomes feed for cattle, which are bred by the nomads. So the nomads had more food. And if there are more food, then there are more people. Because of this, the number of nomads began to grow rapidly. And if there are more people, then they need more pasture to drive their cattle. The trouble is that the Great Eurasian Steppe is not rubber. So the nomads quickly became somewhat cramped. So all sorts of clans and tribes began to cut each other with a vengeance. Let's just say that this is what the population control program looked like in those days. After all, the local overpopulation happened in the steppe. And all these are just economic factors. Yes, such things as crops and population are the economic basis. And all subsequent events were the result of a change in the characteristics of this very basis.
So, how to solve this problem? It can be said, of course, that the nomads had to switch to a sedentary lifestyle and engage in agriculture. But there were no suitable conditions for this in the steppe. It was all blown by the winds, which does not allow you to cultivate the land, since a large part of the fertile layer is blown out. Even the Soviet Union, in the second half of the 20th century, with all its technologies, huge resources, and huge industrial base, was able to turn only a small part of the steppe into arable land. At the turn of the 12th-13th centuries, this was completely impossible. So there was no choice. It remained only to resort to the method of solving the demographic issue, proven for millennia - some of the young and active guys should relocate somewhere. Moreover, they are all wars, and even skillful ones. So all this superfluous mass of people had to go somewhere. And they did it. Various small raids on neighboring settled states began long before the conquests of Genghis Khan. But they were small and scattered, so they could not achieve much success. Gradually came the realization that some success can not be achieved individually, and it is necessary to unite. And do not think that Genghis Khan was the only one who dealt with this issue. There were plenty of such figures there. He just turned out to be more successful. But he did exactly the same thing as everyone else. Then, all this mass went to China, which is traditionally the first to receive the blow of nomads from the great Steppe. Yes, such phenomena have happened more than once in history. The fact that nomads always go to China first is because it is the richest and largest state on the border with the great Steppe. The nomads simply knew that there was something to profit from. And then there is the fact that the same climate optimum, which led to the humidification of the steppe, turned into countless floods in China itself, which destroyed crops. Hunger has become a frequent guest in the Celestial Empire. And when people starve, for some reason they become angry. In general, at this very time, China was not up to nomads, as it was interested in such small things as civil wars and the like. So again, we see how the economic basis determines everything that happens. But the most interesting thing began only later.
The nomads naturally knew about the existence of the Great Silk Road. They even periodically robbed various caravans. But when they captured China, it was only then that they realized what wealth this trade actually brings. At the same time, the nomads themselves do not really understand how it is to live in cities and manage the economy of an urban civilization. Let's just say that being of men determines consciousness. The nomad grows up in slightly different conditions, which affects his idea of the world and life. So after capturing China, Genghis Khan was faced with the question of what to do and where to put all these wonderful guys.The problem is that a crowd of armed people standing idle in one place usually turns into mass robberies and rapes. So Genghis Khan created a huge army, which, due to its origin, simply could not be tied to the ground, and forced to rule cities and villages. And to this is added the awareness of the benefits that the Great Silk Road brings. So it remained only to direct this horde to capture the entire route, in order to make the greatest possible profit. And as the subsequent conquests follow the Silk Road, Central Asia and Persia became the main destinations.
So it turns out that the conquests of Genghis Khan have nothing to do with politics, personal qualities, ambitions, and other passions. They are merely the result of natural changes in the economic basis. Yes, any events in history can be explained quite easily just by economics. So if someone is trying to tell you about how politics affects the economy, just turn around and go about your business. Don't waste your time. All these conversations, without economic factors, do not make any sense. And those who say this, most likely, do not understand the question themselves, and try to pass off wishful thinking. Most often, they customize the problem to fit the answer.