Harari-Ukraine: We are at the most dangerous moment in world history after the Cuban Missile Crisis

Seven weeks after the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine and escalating tensions place society at perhaps “the most dangerous moment in world history since the Cuban Missile Crisis,” according to Israeli historian and author Yuval Noah Harari.

Speaking to CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore, the author of “Sapiens” said that the growing danger of Russia turning to nuclear weapons or other forms of chemical and biological warfare to advance its aggression is an existential threat to humanity.

“We are perhaps at the most dangerous moment in world history since the Cuban Missile Crisis, when a nuclear war suddenly becomes a possibility,” Harari said. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 refers to a period of direct conflict between the United States and the then Soviet Union, which is often considered the moment when the world came closer than ever to nuclear war.

While acknowledging that the current threat of nuclear war is not “very likely”, Harari said everyone – governments and citizens – should be “very” concerned.

“It’s a possibility, a real possibility that we have to look at. And this is terrible news for the whole human race,” he said.

However, Harari warned that it was not up to the Western allies to try to prevent such a move by seeking regime change in Russia. Instead, they should focus on further strengthening Ukraine to defeat Russian forces and restore peace.

“Anyone with fantasies about moving to Moscow should forget about it as soon as possible,” he said, noting that such moves would further provoke the Kremlin. “The aim of the war should be to protect the freedom of Ukraine and not to change Moscow’s regime. That depends on the Russian people,” he said.

Historic turning point

Harari, a lecturer in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the final outcome of the war could mark a decisive turning point in the way governments handle future threats.

If Vladimir Putin wins the war, more countries will tend or be forced to increase their military spending at the expense of other public services, he said.

It is not clear how much Russia is investing in its defense spending, although Harari has estimated it at around 20%. We have already seen recent moves by governments to increase their defense spending. Just days after the conflict, Germany announced it would significantly increase its defense spending to more than 2% of its economic output, CNBC reports.

“If defense budgets around the world were 20% instead of 6%, that would be to the detriment of our healthcare, prosperity and the fight against other risks such as climate change,” he said.

“This would be a terrible catastrophe for all of humanity,” he said, adding that a peaceful solution was not only in the interests of Ukraine and its immediate neighbors, but also of society at large.

“It’s really a matter of defending peace and the kind of world we’re used to,” he said. “We are so used to it that we take it for granted. But if we are not careful, we will slip back into the jungle of war and violence, where countries are forced to spend far more on tanks and missiles and much less on teachers, nurses and welfare systems.” .

Source: TheTOC.gr