According to Yuval Noah Harari, the author of the books Sapiens, Homo Deus, and other bestsellers, the reason why human beings began to dominate the planet is not because we were more intelligent, but because we learned to cooperate.
In order to achieve cooperation, we need rules or laws that we all accept and adhere to. We wouldn’t even be able to play football if we didn’t accept the same rules. However, despite the ever-improving information technology, Harari says that “we cannot agree on the most basic facts. Something is not right.” If we look at current divisions and polarizations – whether between groups within countries or between countries – we can see that his viewpoint is justified.
At the same time, institutions that express, support, and preserve the values that have built our civilization are often attacked and sabotaged, resulting in people completely losing trust in any kind of “system” and increasingly withdrawing into individualism, echo chambers, and their own “filter bubbles”. There is no doubt that many criticisms are justified, that we have systemic errors, that it seems like certain individuals are “above the law,” that so many “promises” have been broken, and that our faith in progress is shaken. But where do we go from here?
No one can “fix” this situation anymore. However, we should never underestimate our own ability to change things and become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. We need to redirect our thinking; instead of thinking about ourselves, we need to think much more about “all of us,” instead of being obsessed with our “rights,” we need to care more about our responsibilities, instead of being “passive recipients” of the benefits of a system created by previous generations, we need to become “active builders” of sustainable systems for future generations. We must step out of our bubbles and realize that we need to relearn how to collaborate, not with people in our own bubbles, but with those we disagree with, with those who seem like “aliens” to us!
So much We have long been encouraged to only do what we “love,” so now it is difficult for most of us to do what we “don’t love.” But there is no other way. We cannot continue to run away from everything that is uncomfortable, difficult, and requires effort, etc. We must learn to become more resilient at all levels and realize that life contains both pleasure and pain, and that there will always be different opinions and ways of looking at the same thing.
We must also change our attitude towards rules and laws and understand that they are the key to cooperation, as British philosopher A. C. Grayling says: “one of the things that most benefits civilization, and potentially one of the most important things for the security, freedom, and prosperity of people. (…) If there is one thing that draws the line between civilization and barbarism, it is the rule of law. It is a barrier against arbitrary power, provides a remedy for the injured, its processes are protection – imperfect, but far better than none – against injustice and failure.”