What Will the World After Covid Look Like? Yuval Noah Harari at FTWeekend Digital Festival 2021

TL;DR

Yuval Noah Harari argues that COVID-19 may accelerate digitalization and political debate, but its long-term historical impact remains uncertain. He says pandemics now look more like political failures because science gives humans greater control, while global threats demand stronger cooperation among nation states rather than a single global government. Read on for his comparisons with the 1918 influenza epidemic and his assessment of scientific cooperation.

Transcript

welcome yuval welcome to the lockdown but very much still happening ft weekend festival thank you for joining us from semi lockdown tel aviv yeah thank you for inviting me what i'd like to do though now is is take the uvalian long view in the context of the millennia of history how do you think this year will be seen oh well i'm not sure it will be... Read More

Key Insights

• "epidemics in general tends to leave a much smaller imprint on history than people assume" (0:44)
• "if there is a pandemic it's no longer a natural disaster it's a political failure" (1:46)
• "i don't believe in a single global government all over the world i think it's a bad idea" (4:28)
• "we need nation states working together on their common interests because there is no contradiction between advancing national interests and cooperating with other countries" (4:53)
• "in at least in 2020 you saw amazing success of scientific cooperation and uh a failure of political cooperation" (6:36)

Questions & Answers

Q: How might COVID-19 be remembered in history?

Harari says it may not be remembered as the defining event that people living through it expect. He notes that epidemics generally leave a smaller historical imprint than people assume, although the changing nature of pandemics could make COVID-19 different.

Q: How did the 1918 influenza epidemic compare with the First World War?

Harari says the 1918 influenza epidemic killed more people but had a much smaller historical impact than the First World War. He points to the abundance of books, poems and television series about the war compared with the nearly nonexistent cultural output about the influenza epidemic.

Q: Why have pandemics become political failures rather than natural disasters?

For most of history, pandemics were viewed as natural disasters beyond human control. Harari argues that scientific capabilities have changed this perception, so the occurrence of a pandemic can now be treated as a political failure.

Q: How did COVID-19 affect digitalization?

Harari says the process of digitalization accelerated hugely over the previous year. He includes this among the pandemic's effects, alongside debates about political institutions and systems of government.

Q: Did COVID-19 prove that autocracies work better than democracies?

Harari says the jury is still out on whether autocracies or democracies work better. He sees evidence for both sides and says the battle over the narrative is still continuing.

Q: Does Yuval Noah Harari support a single global government?

No. Harari calls a single global government a bad idea and instead advocates better cooperation between nation states working on their common interests.

Q: Are nationalism and global cooperation contradictory?

Harari says treating nationalism and globalism as contradictory is a fundamental error. In cases such as fighting a pandemic, countries may need international cooperation to advance their own national interests.

Q: What did COVID-19 reveal about scientific and political cooperation?

Harari describes cooperation among scientists, health institutions and universities as remarkable, with international teams producing key studies and multiple countries contributing to vaccine development. By contrast, he characterizes 2020 as a period of successful scientific cooperation and failed political cooperation.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Harari believes that epidemics have historically had a smaller impact on history than people assume, but the nature of pandemics is changing due to scientific advancements and political implications.

• He notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalization and has raised questions about the effectiveness of different systems of government, such as autocracy versus democracy.

• Harari argues that global cooperation is necessary to address global threats, but a single global government is not the solution. Better cooperation between nation states, with a focus on advancing common interests, is key.