---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: you cannot organise masses of people…"
description: "\"“you cannot organise masses of people effectively without relying on some fictional myths.”\" — Yuval Noah Harari"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/yuval-noah-harari-100_storytelling_you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-eff_1638597.jpg"
---

#  you cannot organise masses of people effectively without…

![“you cannot organise masses of people effectively without relying on some fictional myths.” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/yuval-noah-harari-100_storytelling_you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-eff_1638597.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/yuval-noah-harari-100_storytelling_you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-eff_1638597.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/yuval-noah-harari-100_storytelling_you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-eff_1638597.jpg)

> ““you cannot organise masses of people effectively without relying on some fictional myths.””

[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.

Mass organization relies on shared narratives, even if those stories are fictional, to coordinate large groups.

**In simple terms:** Stories unite people.

Key Takeaway

Use shared narratives wisely.

Themes

society myths leadership

Mood

thoughtful critical

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- political campaigns
- corporate branding
- social movements

Key Concepts

social cohesion narrative power

Questions to Reflect On

- Which myths shape our societies?
- Can we create better shared stories?

A Different Perspective

Fictional myths can be manipulated for control.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Myths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myths/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/)

## Related quotes

> [“In theory, if some holy book misrepresented reality, its disciples would sooner or later discover this, and the text’s authority would be undermined. Abraham…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/in-theory-if-some-holy-book-misrepresented-reality-its-disciples/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“If you distort reality too much, it will weaken you, and you will not be able to compete against not clear-sighted rivals. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/if-you-distort-reality-too-much-it-will-weaken-you-and-you-will-not/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [Republics, one after another . . . have perished from a want of intelligence and virtue in the masses of the people. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/republics-one-after-another-have-perished-from-a-want-of-intelligence/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [It is not the kings and generals that make history, but the masses of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/it-is-not-the-kings-and-generals-that-make-history-but-the-masses-of/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [“I wish the masses of people would all follow my advice, because I'd throw it off a cliff.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-wish-the-masses-of-people-would-all-follow-my-advice-because-i-d/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [What we apparently have failed to grasp is that, in this new world in which we live, the collective hunger of great masses of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/what-we-apparently-have-failed-to-grasp-is-that-in-this-new-world-in/)

[Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/)

> [“The masses of people are carried along, obedient to environment; the wills and desires of others stronger than themselves; heredity; suggestion; and other outward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/three-initiates/the-masses-of-people-are-carried-along-obedient-to-environment-the/)

[Three Initiates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/three-initiates/)

> [In addition to the leadership of the Party, a decisive factor is our population of 600 million. More people mean a greater ferment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/in-addition-to-the-leadership-of-the-party-a-decisive-factor-is-our/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [I want the great masses of my people to take a greater pride in their appearance and to give their hair proper attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madam-c-j-walker/i-want-the-great-masses-of-my-people-to-take-a-greater-pride-in-their-2/)

[Madam C. J. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madam-c-j-walker/)

> [“This metropolitan world, then, is a world where flesh and blood is less real than paper and ink and celluloid. It is a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/this-metropolitan-world-then-is-a-world-where-flesh-and-blood-is-less/)

[Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/)

> [At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this. It was just a day like any other day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-parks/at-the-time-i-was-arrested-i-had-no-idea-it-would-turn-into-this-it/)

[Rosa Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-parks/)

> [Since the masses of the people are inconstant, full of unruly desires, passionate, and reckless of consequences, they must be filled with fears to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/since-the-masses-of-the-people-are-inconstant-full-of-unruly-desires/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The masses of the people of Africa are crying for unity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/the-masses-of-the-people-of-africa-are-crying-for-unity/)

[Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/)

> [The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-great-masses-of-the-people-will-more-easily-fall-victims-to-a-big/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [Particularly the broad masses of the people can be moved only by the power of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/particularly-the-broad-masses-of-the-people-can-be-moved-only-by-the/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

## 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. 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/)

> [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. The fly is so weak that it cannot budge even a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/terrorists-are-like-a-fly-that-tries-to-destroy-a-china-shop-the-fly/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker-increases-his-profits-by/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“A natural order is a stable order. 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 Myths quotes

> [I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-supernatural-elements-in-stories/)

[Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/)

> [“Many people do simply awful things out of sincere religious belief, not using religion as a cover the way that Saddam Hussein may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/many-people-do-simply-awful-things-out-of-sincere-religious-belief/)

[Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/)

> [Songs are like myths. Myths are useful because they allow you to cast yourself and your life and your own experience. And for some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taylor/songs-are-like-myths-myths-are-useful-because-they-allow-you-to-cast/)

[James Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taylor/)

> [“Anachron’s Law: There is no myth which is so irrational that no one will believe it. Anachron’s Corollary: There is no truth which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hammond/anachron-s-law-there-is-no-myth-which-is-so-irrational-that-no-one/)

[George Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hammond/)

> [When we lose our myths we lose our place in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/when-we-lose-our-myths-we-lose-our-place-in-the-universe/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [Other people's beliefs may be myths, but not mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/other-people-s-beliefs-may-be-myths-but-not-mine/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like Icarus who, flying close to the sun, forgot that his wings were made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-heel-or-like-icarus-who-flying/)

[Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/)

> [All my stories are like the Greek and Roman myths, and the Egyptian myths, and the Old and New Testament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/all-my-stories-are-like-the-greek-and-roman-myths-and-the-egyptian/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [They do not depend upon mere legends and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-do-not-depend-upon-mere-legends-and-myths-they-are-not/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We overhype everything. We create monumental myths. There are people who still believe that Brandi Chastain and the U.S. women's World Cup team pulled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/we-overhype-everything-we-create-monumental-myths-there-are-people/)

[Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/)

> [Now I'm a Catholic agnostic by the way. Yet those myths still live within me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-alexis/now-i-m-a-catholic-agnostic-by-the-way-yet-those-myths-still-live/)

[Andre Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-alexis/)

> [“For hero-worship often defeats its own ends; the boy who "cannot tell a lie," the boy who kept his finger in the hole in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-ma-guerrero/for-hero-worship-often-defeats-its-own-ends-the-boy-who-cannot-tell-a/)

Leon Ma. Guerrero

> [It's not about superheroes. This is the method of universal storytelling that all people have... To me, they're the same as the Greek myths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-jenkins/it-s-not-about-superheroes-this-is-the-method-of-universal/)

[Patty Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-jenkins/)

> [I wish, to be honest, that there were more myths about me. I wish I was more of a mythical person, and that then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/i-wish-to-be-honest-that-there-were-more-myths-about-me-i-wish-i-was/)

[Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/)

> [I want to clear up a few myths about myself. People have written that I was a kindergarten teacher and a former Miss Texas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-allen/i-want-to-clear-up-a-few-myths-about-myself-people-have-written-that/)

[Krista Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-allen/)

[Browse all 487 Myths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myths/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“you cannot organise masses of people effectively without relying on some fictional myths.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Yuval Noah Harari"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-effectively-without-relying-on/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Myths"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-effectively-without-relying-on/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/yuval-noah-harari-100_storytelling_you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-eff_1638597.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/yuval-noah-harari-100_storytelling_you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-eff_1638597.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/yuval-noah-harari-100_storytelling_you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-eff_1638597.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“you cannot organise masses of people effectively without relying on some fictional myths.” — Yuval Noah Harari",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Yuval Noah Harari",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“you cannot organise masses of people...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-effectively-without-relying-on/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/you-cannot-organise-masses-of-people-effectively-without-relying-on/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
