State and Market vs Human

According to Harari, before the state and market dominated the human culture, they were the family and the community the fundamental elements that marked human life. Harari considers that these were as oppressive as state and market are currently towards us. Contrary to our system nowadays, if a person lost his/her family nobody could help him/her: “She had no job, no education and no support in times of sickness and distress. Nobody would loan her money or defend her if she got into trouble.” (Harari, 358). The state and the market approached people with the term “individualism”. It basically states that you should whatever you want, such as marrying whoever you want, live wherever you want. However, being individual has a cost. As we feel “alone”, we tend to think that these both forces threaten our lives. In some cases, “individuals are exploited by markets, and states employ their armies, police forces and bureaucracies to persecute individuals instead of defending them.” (Harari, 360). Therefore, we change from a community where their life is, although protected, limited, to an individualistic life where there is more freedom but there is a tendency to suffer from the state and the market.

I believe that historians should study how different ways of life are, and to select what would be considered the most accurate and fulfilling one. It may mix some characteristics of different types, but it would be perfect. Historians should not repeat what existed before and was meant to be bad or harmful. We must learn from our human history to achieve better goals.

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