21 Lessons for the 21st Century

by Yuval Noah Harari

Resistance to immigration and to trade agreements is mounting. Ostensibly democratic governments undermine the independence of the judiciary system, restrict the freedom of the press, and portray any opposition as treason.

Humans were always far better at inventing tools than using them wisely.

people who voted for Trump and Brexit didn’t reject the liberal package in its entirety—they lost faith mainly in its globalizing part. They still believe in democracy, free markets, human rights, and social responsibility, but they think these fine ideas can stop at the border. Indeed, they believe that in order to preserve liberty and prosperity in Yorkshire or Kentucky, it is best to build a wall on the border and adopt illiberal policies toward foreigners.

Human happiness depends less on objective conditions and more on our own expectations. Expectations, however, tend to adapt to conditions, including the conditions of other people. When things improve, expectations balloon, and so even dramatic improvements in conditions might leave us as dissatisfied as before.

Referendums and elections are always about human feelings, not about human rationality.

Politicians are a bit like musicians, and the instrument they play on is the human emotional and biochemical system. They give a speech, and there is a wave of fear in the country. They tweet, and there is an explosion of hatred.

So it is better to legalize immigration and deal with it openly than create a vast underworld of human trafficking, illegal workers, and undocumented children.

countries turn a blind eye to illegal immigration or even accept foreign workers on a temporary basis because they want to benefit from the foreigners’ energy, talents, and cheap labor. But the countries then refuse to legalize the status

Europe itself is extremely diverse, and its native populations have a wide spectrum of opinions, habits, and values. This is exactly what makes Europe vibrant and strong.

But in fact, they are not racist. They are “culturist.” People continue to conduct a heroic struggle against traditional racism without noticing that the battlefront has shifted. Traditional racism is waning, but the world is now full of “culturists.”

present-day culturists might be more tolerant than traditional racists—if only the “others” adopt our culture, we will accept them as our equals. On the other hand, that could result in far stronger pressures on the “others” to assimilate, and in far harsher criticism of their failure to do so.

If we care about tolerance toward religious minorities and compare the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century with Western Europe in the sixteenth century, we would conclude that Muslim culture is extremely tolerant. If we compare Afghanistan under the Taliban to contemporary Denmark, we would reach a very different conclusion.