Scientific discovery is a very interesting topic and Harari, talks about in great detail. It is and likely will always be linked with political and fiscal interests. A major attribute to the expansion of scientific ideas comes from war. Harari talks about the second world war and how scientific advancements were shaped by political interests. The Germans were indeed losing and they thought that they could win the war through science. They in turn invested great deal of money into their “special” weapons programs. These were fueled by the Nazi propaganda and ideals. (Harari, 261) The war is not the only example of Science being shaped by fiscal interests, many cultures have used new sciences to develop new weapons, and with these weapons said peoples would be able to conquer land and in turn make a great deal of money. Harari, is using the idea that creating new scientific ideas, and more importantly weapons to conquer others and then make money. (Harari, 262) Going from war to other ideas, war garners great deals of money and then with this money, other advancements can be made, these advancements could be a great many things, but generally they are for the overall betterment of society. From the reading it seems that nations that invest early in weaponry and devices of destruction seem to advance quickly because of the profits made, and then they turn again to science to further advance other aspects of society.
I would agree in the idea that progress is linked with science, empire and capitalism. This is because like Harari it seems like wherever great strides of progress are made, it generally comes hand in hand with advances in science, or the expansion of an Empire, or the eruption of capitalism. Capitalism seems to help drive progress because, with a great deal of income there seems to be a direct link to scientific progress.