--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: According to this approach, cultures are…" description: "\"“According to this approach, cultures are not conspiracies concocted by some people in order to take advantage of others (as Marxists tend to think). R..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_according-to-this-approach-cultures-are_2081062.jpg" --- # According to this approach, cultures are not conspiracies… ![“According to this approach, cultures are not conspiracies concocted by some people in order to take advantage of others (as Marxists tend to think). Rather, cultures are mental parasites that emerge accidentally, and thereafter take advantage of all people infected by them.” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_according-to-this-approach-cultures-are_2081062.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_according-to-this-approach-cultures-are_2081062.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/yuval-noah-harari-100_quote_according-to-this-approach-cultures-are_2081062.jpg) > ““According to this approach, cultures are not conspiracies concocted by some people in order to take advantage of others (as Marxists tend to think). Rather, cultures are mental parasites that emerge accidentally, and thereafter take advantage of all people infected by them.”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cultures spread like accidental mental parasites, influencing everyone they touch. **In simple terms:** Culture spreads unintentionally and shapes all people. Key Takeaway Be aware of cultural influences. Themes culture memetics social influence parasite theory Mood thoughtful academic inquisitive Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - media literacy programs - cultural studies curricula - public awareness campaigns Key Concepts cognitive bias group dynamics evolutionary psychology Questions to Reflect On - What cultural ideas have shaped you? - How can we discern beneficial from harmful cultural memes? A Different Perspective Not all cultural transmission is harmful; many are beneficial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cultures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultures/) ## Related quotes > [“Cultural ideas live inside the minds of humans. They multiply and spread from one host to another, occasionally weakening the hosts and sometimes even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/cultural-ideas-live-inside-the-minds-of-humans-they-multiply-and/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [If you watch wrestling, you now know the hip-hop culture is being represented with wrestling. For the longest time, the cultures have almost been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cena/if-you-watch-wrestling-you-now-know-the-hip-hop-culture-is-being/) [John Cena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cena/) > [Meet people from other cultures, so you understand that the world doesn't swirl around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/meet-people-from-other-cultures-so-you-understand-that-the-world/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) > [I've always been very curious about fringe cultures where people temporarily adopt a different social model or way of presenting themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-ve-always-been-very-curious-about-fringe-cultures-where-people/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I was brought up in many different cultures, moving around all the time, and I find my identity in my songs. I project the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika/i-was-brought-up-in-many-different-cultures-moving-around-all-the/) [Mika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika/) > [When I did a year-long study in 2005 of European countries integrating Muslims into their cultures, France came in the lowest of the rank.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-di-giovanni/when-i-did-a-year-long-study-in-2005-of-european-countries/) [Janine di Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-di-giovanni/) > [In all civilizations we've studied, all cultures that we know of across the Earth and across time have invested some kind of attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-all-civilizations-we-ve-studied-all-cultures-that-we-know-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [So I've never found there was any particular separation between the two cultures at all, musically speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neville-marriner/so-i-ve-never-found-there-was-any-particular-separation-between-the/) [Neville Marriner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neville-marriner/) > [“How people’s passionate beliefs, often about similar things, just with different names, can drive such a fervent wedge between cultures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-higgins/how-people-s-passionate-beliefs-often-about-similar-things-just-with/) [Wendy Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-higgins/) > [We live in a world of diverse cultures, and we know very little about social engineering and how to 'build nations.' And when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-nye/we-live-in-a-world-of-diverse-cultures-and-we-know-very-little-about/) [Joseph Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-nye/) > [“Great cultures bring problems and disagreements to the surface and solve them well, and they love imagining and building great things that haven’t been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/great-cultures-bring-problems-and-disagreements-to-the-surface-and/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Understanding languages and other cultures builds bridges. It is the fastest way to bring the world closer together and to Truth. Through understanding, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/understanding-languages-and-other-cultures-builds-bridges-it-is-the/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [I have to represent. I feel proud to have a culture that's different... and proud to be a Latina. We're not all categorized as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-martinez/i-have-to-represent-i-feel-proud-to-have-a-culture-that-s-different/) [Natalie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-martinez/) > [History shows, in my opinion, that no nation can survive the tension, conflict and antagonism of two competing languages and cultures. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/history-shows-in-my-opinion-that-no-nation-can-survive-the-tension/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-do-you-cause-people-to-believe-in-an-imagined-order-such-as/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I think the basic thing that happened is we have lost our story. Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/i-think-the-basic-thing-that-happened-is-we-have-lost-our-story/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“the Chinese air-purification market is booming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-chinese-air-purification-market-is-booming/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas liberalism merged with the milder versions of nationalism to protect the unique experiences of each human community, evolutionary humanists such as Hitler identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-liberalism-merged-with-the-milder-versions-of-nationalism-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Corporations, money and nations exist only in our imagination. We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. 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There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More Cultures quotes > [If you watch wrestling, you now know the hip-hop culture is being represented with wrestling. For the longest time, the cultures have almost been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cena/if-you-watch-wrestling-you-now-know-the-hip-hop-culture-is-being/) [John Cena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cena/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. 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Through understanding, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/understanding-languages-and-other-cultures-builds-bridges-it-is-the/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“Great cultures bring problems and disagreements to the surface and solve them well, and they love imagining and building great things that haven’t been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/great-cultures-bring-problems-and-disagreements-to-the-surface-and/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [We live in a world of diverse cultures, and we know very little about social engineering and how to 'build nations.' And when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-nye/we-live-in-a-world-of-diverse-cultures-and-we-know-very-little-about/) [Joseph Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-nye/) > [“How people’s passionate beliefs, often about similar things, just with different names, can drive such a fervent wedge between cultures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-higgins/how-people-s-passionate-beliefs-often-about-similar-things-just-with/) [Wendy Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-higgins/) > [So I've never found there was any particular separation between the two cultures at all, musically speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neville-marriner/so-i-ve-never-found-there-was-any-particular-separation-between-the/) [Neville Marriner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neville-marriner/) > [In all civilizations we've studied, all cultures that we know of across the Earth and across time have invested some kind of attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-all-civilizations-we-ve-studied-all-cultures-that-we-know-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [When I did a year-long study in 2005 of European countries integrating Muslims into their cultures, France came in the lowest of the rank.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-di-giovanni/when-i-did-a-year-long-study-in-2005-of-european-countries/) [Janine di Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-di-giovanni/) > [I was brought up in many different cultures, moving around all the time, and I find my identity in my songs. 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