“You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
The quote is from Yuval Noah Harari’s book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.” This passage draws a sharp distinction between humans and other animals by touching upon the concept of belief in the afterlife and the ability to trade immediate tangible benefits for intangible future rewards.
In this specific context, Harari is likely alluding to the unique human capacity to believe in concepts and stories that extend beyond physical reality and immediate needs—a capacity that has enabled large-scale human cooperation. The idea is that unlike a monkey, which operates based on immediate and tangible rewards, humans can be motivated by promises of intangible rewards in the future, even beyond life, such as the concept of heaven or an afterlife.
This human ability to believe in and be motivated by such abstract concepts has been a driving force behind the formation of religions, ideologies, and economic systems that require individuals to perform actions or make sacrifices now in the hope of a reward later on, whether in this life or another. It highlights our species’ distinctive relationship with time and imagination, enabling us to act on promises of delayed gratification or abstract concepts that have no direct physical manifestation in the immediate environment.
In the context of religion, Harari points out that shared beliefs in gods, afterlives, and sacred texts provide a framework within which people can cooperate in large numbers. Religions often ask followers to abide by certain codes of conduct, perform rituals, or make sacrifices in the present with the expectation of a reward or punishment in an afterlife. The concept of heaven or nirvana, for instance, provides a powerful incentive for ethical behavior or self-sacrifice in this life, even when such actions do not offer immediate material benefits.
When it comes to ideologies, whether political, social, or economic, Harari emphasizes that these too are built on shared beliefs that unify large groups of people around common goals. For example, nationalism encourages individuals to work for the glory and benefit of their nation, often at personal cost, with the promise that their sacrifices will lead to a stronger, more prosperous country in the future. Similarly, the communist ideology encouraged sacrifices in the present for the sake of achieving a classless society later on.
Economic systems are also predicated on trust in shared myths and future rewards. Capitalism, in particular, relies on the concept of investment and delayed gratification. People save money, invest in businesses, or delay personal gratification in the hope that these actions will yield more significant rewards in the future—like greater wealth, security, or comfort.
Harari’s exploration of these concepts reveals the underlying psychological architecture that allows humans to build complex societal structures. Trust in the future is an abstract concept that does not resonate in the animal kingdom the way it does in human society. Animals, as per Harari’s argument, are largely driven by the immediate reality and direct rewards or punishments. In contrast, humans are unique in their ability to coordinate in the present for something that exists only in the imagination or the future.
This mental capability has allowed humans to form large-scale societies and cooperate with strangers, which has been a key factor in the species’ unprecedented success. It has also led to some of our most complex and enduring structures, from the Pyramids of Giza to modern financial systems like the stock market, where value and trust are predicated on belief in the system itself and its future outcomes.
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