Yuval Noah Harari Defends Cooperation in New Volume 3 as Strongman Politics Gains Ground
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 26
Yuval Noah Harari Defends Cooperation in New Volume 3 as Strongman Politics Gains Ground
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 26
Yuval Noah Harari used an edited Ezra Klein Show interview to argue that large-scale cooperation, not dominance, is the core driver of human progress.
The discussion was framed against Trumpism and right-wing populism, which Harari’s interviewer said portray hierarchy, conflict and winning transactions as society’s real engine.
Harari tied that theme to his new children’s book, “Unstoppable Us, Volume 3,” which focuses on how enemies can become friends through cooperation.
The exchange highlights a broader political clash over whether liberal, positive-sum systems still explain social progress in an era increasingly shaped by strongman appeals.
Is human cooperation just a story we tell ourselves in a world ruled by power?
If shared stories built civilizations, are today’s rival narratives destined to break them?
What is the one historical mistake today's 'strongmen' leaders keep repeating?