Science, empire, and capitalism all worked together to promote each other in 18th and 19th Europe. Previously, Europe had no significant advantage over it’s competitors, but European scientists began to admit that maybe they didn’t understand everything about the world. Europe sent scientists to go out into the world and make new discoveries, with the hope that more knowledge equals more power. And they were right. Europeans gained expansive new territories, including the Americas, through unique missions to explore and conquer. New empires equals more resources equals more power equals better ability to conquer neighbors and new territories, etc etc.
Harari argues essentially that progress fuels progress. He gives evidence primarily from medical science, saying that scientific discovery allowed us to view disease and death as technical problems rather than “inevitable destiny.” Each new development encourages more research, which may end up solving more problems further down the road. Progress, specifically in the medical field, allowed us to live longer, healthier lives. All these factors benefit science, empire, and capitalism. New developments encourage investment in science, and scientific discoveries aid empire and capitalism. The circle continues.