state and market mean business

In the book Sapiens by Harari he makes it very easy to see how market and state became so central to human culture. Firstly the approach used by the state and market were perfect to entice the tradition family style human. The offer they shouted from the rooftops was that of being an individual. The message was one that excited the people who didn’t want to have to listen to their parents and those that wanted to do what their heart desired. The final sell was that since they had to leave their traditional families and communities behind, now the state and market would take care of them. More specifically the text says, “we will provide food, shelter, education, health, welfare and employment. We will provide pensions, insurance and protection” (359). After seeing the plethora of things promised it is easy to see how this new view of being an individual was so important to the culture of humans during this paradigm shift. Things such as banks allowed people to take out loans and start a business, if you want a house you can get one and take out a mortgage. With the new system  you are given all the possibilities to do whatever you want with your life and that is the most powerful part about human culture in reference to the state and market.

In the case of historians they are very valuable in the context of the future. While what they do may not have a physical representation, they do have power in how they see and analyze things. When looking at the future of homo sapiens seeing what happened in the past can help us expect what is to come in the future. A reference in the book talked about how a couple million years from now things that are currently prospering like rats and cockroaches could look back at homo sapiens and be grateful for their demise much like we are with the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs and gave new life a chance to survive.