After an in-depth analysis of past generations and Sapiens in particular, towards the end of his book, Harari takes a look into the cultural aspects of our society. More specifically, Harari answers how the state and the market have become such big parts of our lives today. As Harari puts it, their new-found power was a result of “break[ing] the power of family and community” by making “an offer that could not be refused… become individuals” and for this reason, the once strong bonds of family and community feel apart (Harari 359). So, instead of being reliant on your family and community your whole life, by the state and the market promising “to take care of you”, they were able to rise to become the central aspects of human culture (Harari 359). In other words, they presented a new lifestyle, and people happily took it, changing Sapiens culture forever.
When analyzing the future or even the end of Sapiens, it is an interesting question as to where we well end up. While Sapiens have already lasted for so long, there is still a possibility the future isn’t as bright as where we have been. With this being said, I think historians should play a very large role in considering the future of Sapiens. In my opinion, while historians are expected to study the past, I don’t think they should be limited to it. Historians like Harari are some of the people that know the most about Sapiens, and this knowledge can easily be used to determine Sapiens future. Overall, like we have seen in many other aspects of this class, I do believe that it is important that historians play a bigger role in analyzing the future.