According to Harari, the state and the market run and control the world and society we live in. Up until the last couple centuries, our societies mostly functioned through deep familial ties and the idea that those who you are related to are your entire support system. We used our family for everything, for work, food, wellness, marriage, death and everything in between. This all changed once the Industrial Revolution gave resources that once did not exist. “The Industrial Revolution gave the market immense new powers, provided the state with new means of communication and transportation, and placed the at the government’s disposal an army of clerks, teachers, policeman and social workers”(Harari 358). So if the family ties were so strong for the entire past of Homo Sapiens history, how can an institution such as the state or the market break those ties? The offered security in freedom. Many felt stuck with their family’s lifestyle or career but did not have any other support system if they were to leave. Once the government offered this, these institutions became a foundational part of our culture. “We, the state and the market, will take care of you instead. We will provide food, shelter, education, health, welfare and employment. We will provide pensions, insurance and protection”(Harari 359). It was through this that family values decreased, and the power of the state and market became central to our culture.
Historians play an important role in how we proceed into the future, especially the future of our species. As the saying goes, history repeats itself. Historians like Harari play a big role in our interpretation of what has happened in the past and how that might tell what the future may hold. As we have looked at before, there is an important connection between science and history when working towards a better future and hopefully not the end of Homo sapiens.