“If I had to choose between Greece and the United States for who should be leading the world now, giving us a plan of action, I would definitely choose Greece,” Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli historian and author, stated on James Corden’s 'The Late Night Show'.
Corden connects with the historian via video and the two talk about the potential society-shifting impact of COVID-19 on an international, national and institutional level.
Yuval also describes why humankind must be vigilant of how technology could ultimately strip everyone of any form of privacy.
“When you look at the actual response of the US, in its own house, to the epidemic, maybe it’s not such a bad thing that it’s not responsible for the world,” he added.
During their talk, Corden asked the Israeli professor which global leaders he thought we should look to, to guide humanity through the current crisis. After claiming that nobody was taking on the task of leading and taking global responsibility, Harari said “The US had basically abdicated its role as global leader”, going on to add “Greece is doing an amazing job in containing this epidemic. If I had to choose, say between Greece and the United States, who should be leading the world now, giving us a plan of action, I would definitely choose Greece.”
Yuval stressed that the decisions being taken by governments today “will obviously shape these countries for years to come, not just for a few weeks.”
“I hope when the crisis is over, people will remember who they really trusted,” he added.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday thanked Harari's comments which praised the country’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
"On behalf of the Greek people, I would like to thank @harari_yuval for his kind words. During these trying times, everyone has had to make sacrifices, but we stand united and determined in the fight against COVID-19," the Greek PM tweeted.
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*Yuval Noah Harari is an Israeli historian and a professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of the popular science bestsellers Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.
