--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Rather, when famine, plague or war break…" description: "\"“Rather, when famine, plague or war break out of our control, we feel that somebody must have screwed up, we set up a commission of inquiry, and promis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/yuval-noah-harari-100_believe_rather-when-famine-plague-or-war-break-o_2262715.jpg" --- # Rather, when famine, plague or war break out of our… ![“Rather, when famine, plague or war break out of our control, we feel that somebody must have screwed up, we set up a commission of inquiry, and promise ourselves that next time we’ll do better.” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/yuval-noah-harari-100_believe_rather-when-famine-plague-or-war-break-o_2262715.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/yuval-noah-harari-100_believe_rather-when-famine-plague-or-war-break-o_2262715.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/yuval-noah-harari-100_believe_rather-when-famine-plague-or-war-break-o_2262715.jpg) > ““Rather, when famine, plague or war break out of our control, we feel that somebody must have screwed up, we set up a commission of inquiry, and promise ourselves that next time we’ll do better.”” [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. People create inquiries after crises, hoping to prevent future failures, but often repeat the same mistakes. **In simple terms:** We set up commissions after disasters, yet still repeat errors. Key Takeaway Learn from past mistakes instead of just investigating. Themes history human nature accountability Mood reflective critical serious Type philosophical analytical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - crisis response - organizational learning - public administration Key Concepts systems thinking learning loops bureaucracy Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure commissions lead to action? - What prevents learning from past crises? A Different Perspective Investigations can become performative without real change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Famine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famine/) [Next time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Before answering this question, we need to say a few more words about famine, plague and war. The claim that we are bringing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/before-answering-this-question-we-need-to-say-a-few-more-words-about/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“history does not tolerate a vacuum. If incidences of famine, plague and war are decreasing, something is bound to take their place on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/history-does-not-tolerate-a-vacuum-if-incidences-of-famine-plague-and/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“For thousands of years priests, rabbis and muftis explained that humans cannot overcome famine, plague and war by their own efforts. Then along came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-thousands-of-years-priests-rabbis-and-muftis-explained-that/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Famine, plague and war will probably continue to claim millions of victims in the coming decades. Yet they are no longer unavoidable tragedies beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/famine-plague-and-war-will-probably-continue-to-claim-millions-of/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Famine, plague, death and war... that's a pretty good description of 1917-18. 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