“But it does mean that irrespective of when matters came to a head and of who sat on the thrones, won the elections, or led the armies, the West was always going to win in the nineteenth century.”

Morris’s theory of world history is centered around The Role of Geography in Social Development. Specifically, he argues, “The West rules because of geography” (557). This leaves little room for human agency, although Morris still argues that historical change is caused by the ways societies at different levels of social development respond to geographical circumstances.

“I learned one big thing: to answer this question we need a broad approach, combining the historian’s focus on context, the archaeologist’s awareness of the deep past, and the social scientist’s comparative methods.”

Both the chronological scope of Morris’s argument and his use of scientific data call for applying a variety of different disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences. However, he also admits that this can be problematic because of the limits of the expertise of a single author.

“I will conclude that biology and sociology explain the global similarities while geography explains the regional differences. And in that sense, it is geography that explains why the West rules.”

While Morris emphasizes The Role of Geography in Social Development, sociology and biology are still major factors in his understanding of history. Since he considers those as universal “constants” (29) and geography as what explains historical difference, though, it is fair to say that Morris thinks of geography as the only “driver” of history.