‘Sapiens’ author Harari: Political leadership failed in fight against COVID-19

Yuval Noah Harari, one of the most famous historians and thinkers in the world, was the first guest of the new program “Konuşmamız Lazım” on the Gain Media, hosted by Turkish journalist Çınar Oskay. Harari said that politicians failed people in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as they have not managed to create a unified global alliance.

Yuval Noah Harari (L) was the first guest of the new program “Konuşmamız Lazım” hosted by Turkish journalist Çınar Oskay.

Duvar English

Turkish journalist Çınar Oskay hosted Yuval Noah Harari, known for his best-selling books Sapiens and Homo Deus, on the first episode of the new program “Konuşmamız Lazım” (which translates as 'We need to talk') on the digital platform Gain Media.

Harari talked about the COVID-19 pandemic, dangers of surveillance technology and the future of humanity in the program.

Asked if the human race should be afraid of a more deadly pandemic after COVID-19, Harari said: “It depends on our political reaction. We now have the scientific and technological tools to basically stop all epidemics. If we really wanted to, we could make COVID-19 the last epidemic in human history.”

“We can't stop of course the appearance of new viruses and new pathogens, but by monitoring effectively the whole world and by providing good health care and investing in the development of medicine and vaccines, we can prevent new viruses from turning into new epidemics. But whether we'll actually do it, that's a political question. Unfortunately, so far our political leadership has failed us,” Harari said.

According to Harari, the reaction to COVID-19 was a failure because political leaders did not take appropriate actions and failed to create a unified global alliance.

“We don't have a global plan of action of how to stop this pandemic, and we don't have a global plan of action to establish some kind of an effective global system against pandemics,” the renowned intellect said.

The full program can be accessed here.