What Yuval Noah Harari thinks about government
Israeli historian and philosopher, born in 1976; author of Sapiens, Homo Deus, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century and Nexus; lecturer in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; co-founder of Sapienship in 2019.
Yuval Noah Harari did not write this page.
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6 dated positions, 2018 to c. 2024–2025, in their own words. Our reading of what Yuval Noah Harari has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Our readingA democracy should never let all its information concentrate in one hub, government or corporate
Their wordsA democratic society should never allow all its information to be concentrated in one place, no matter whether that hub is the government or a private corporation.
↗Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI (Random House, 2025 paperback edition)books.google.com All 31 from this book
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Our readingGlobal cooperation does not mean a global government, which would be impossible and very dangerous
Their wordsWhen we talk about global cooperation, we definitely don't have in mind, at least not anybody that I know, a global government. This is an impossible and very dangerous idea.
↗Yuval Noah Harari: An Urgent Warning They Hope You Ignore. More War Is Coming!youtube.com 21st of 24 in this recording
- 10 months earlier
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Their wordsDon’t let anybody fool you: what this government is carrying out is not a judicial reform, it is an anti-democratic coup. This is exactly what a coup looks like.
↗My message to Benjamin Netanyahu: stop your coup or we’ll stop the country (The Guardian)theguardian.com 1st of 4 in this piece
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Their wordsDemocracy is a deal, according to which citizens must respect the government’s decisions, on the condition that the government respects the basic liberties of the citizens. When one side breaks the deal, the other side doesn’t have to go on fulfilling its part. When a government tries to establish a dictatorship, citizens are allowed to resist.
↗My message to Benjamin Netanyahu: stop your coup or we’ll stop the country (The Guardian)theguardian.com 4th of 4 in this piece
- 4 years earlier
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Their wordsWe should defend liberal democracy, not only because it has proved to be a more benign form of government than any of its alternatives, but also because it places the fewest limitations on debating the future of humanity.
↗Yuval Noah Harari: the myth of freedom (The Guardian)theguardian.com 5th of 5 in this piece
- 3 months earlier
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Their wordsif it's a corporation and it really controls the data, this is our real government. So the difference is more apparent than real.
↗Why fascism is so tempting -- and how your data could power it | Yuval Noah Harari (TED)youtube.com 6th of 6 in this recording