7 Questions for Yuval Noah Harari

Yuval Noah Harari is concerned about our bad decisions. Whereas the Oxford-educated Israeli historian and academic’s past work examined the far-flung past and the way-off future, his third book, “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” (Spiegel & Grau), brings his insights to the here-and-now into a call to action. Harari believes that unless we heed the threats of global warming and corporate and state manipulation, this most bountiful of ages could collapse into something unrecognizable. Thankfully, he has some suggestions for how to confront all these looming dangers, up to and including the Fitbit that may someday become a permanent part of your arm. PJ Grisar spoke with Harari for the Forward.

PJ GRISAR: You describe this book as having been written “in conversation with the public.” What was your process in forming it?

YUVAL NOAH HARARI: It formed over a period of two or three years after the publication of my two previous books, “Sapiens” and “Homo Deus.” Both of the previous books were not about the present political and social issues. [But] for many people — perhaps even most people — the most immediate question is “What do we do now?” And the idea behind the book was to take the insights from the two previous books from looking at the past and the future to tell something about the present from a long-term perspective.

Do you see it as part of your job as a historian to influence policy?

I think the job of historians is ultimately to influence the behavior and thinking of people in the present. You don’t study the past for the sake of people in the past; they’re all dead. Of course, you need to keep your distance. The main thing that historians can bring to the political discussion is perspective. ...