Science, Empire, and Capitalism has been the quarter horses of the values of humanity. The men behind the more advanced sciences of the time were the more powerful people in their community. This is because they possessed more desired teachings which made them needed by the community, thus powerful. When someone accumulates more and more power they want to continue to expand their power. When an individual wants to expand their power, the start of an empire arises. Then once the empire is established the men behind the sciences then accumulate more resources which leads to even more scientific advances. From this Capitalism arises from this well established empire. What starts this is when individuals who become powerful within the empire can control most of the trade and commerce within the empire and neighboring empires. From this those powerful individuals carry a big presence in the empire which can often influence how the empire is ran. A prime example of this is the Medici family in Italy during the renaissance. The Medici family was one of the wealthiest families of their time and they controlled most of the trade and commerce within Italy which made them a political powerhouse.
Progress was a pivotal driving point behind science, empire, and capitalism. This is because science advancements are fueled by progress. Empires are fueled by progressing their dominance. Capitalism is fueled by wealth which comes through positive progress. This was Hariri’s main argument for human advancement. I fully agree with Harari because for one I he probably knows his stuff more than me and second the drive for progress is what has been driving humanity ever since our first human community.
Sam, your title legitimately made me laugh, so to be completely honest that’s why I picked your post. However, as I began to read it I found that I really liked what you had to say. I thought that your method of framing science, capitalism, and empire as a kind of snowball progression was super well done and a clever way of looking at it. It makes complete sense as well, as they all do feed off each other in more ways than one. The more resources get built up, the more power a society has, and the more opportunity for advancement and so on. I also thought you saying that you agree with Harari because he probably knows what he’s talking about was pretty funny, and also fair. However there is certainly something to be said for not always trusting what people say just because it’s in a book.