The Gray Area with Sean Illing Yuval Noah Harari thinks humans are unstoppable
Nov 3, 2022
Yuval Noah Harari, a historian and bestselling author known for works like Sapiens, discusses humanity's unique storytelling superpower that drives cooperation and societal evolution. He delves into the fragility of democracy amidst competing narratives and the rising challenges from AI and climate change. Harari emphasizes the need for global collaboration while respecting national identities and critiques the simplistic divide between globalism and nationalism. His insights urge a rethinking of political divisions, imagining a future where change and tradition can coexist.
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Human Cooperation
- Humans' unique power is large-scale cooperation driven by shared stories, unlike other animals.
- These stories, like religions or money, have no inherent value but gain power through collective belief.
Liberalism's Self-Correction
- Liberalism, like other ideologies, is a human invention; it acknowledges this and can self-correct.
- Unlike religions with fixed doctrines, liberalism adapts through amendments, exemplified by the U.S. Constitution versus the Ten Commandments on slavery.
Stories Drive Politics
- While facts are important, shared stories, not objective truth, drive political movements.
- A better story, not just fact-checking, displaces a prevailing narrative.
