There are no gods, no nations, no money and no human rights, except in our collective imagination.

Gods, nations, money, and human rights are all examples of what Yuval Noah Harari calls “inter-subjective realities”—they exist only because large numbers of people believe in them and act as if they are real. These collective myths are essential for organizing large-scale human cooperation and building complex societies. Their power and influence are undeniable, but their existence is rooted in our shared imagination, not in the objective, physical world.

1. There Are No Gods Except in Our Collective Imagination

Throughout history, human societies have believed in thousands of different gods, each with unique names, stories, and attributes. These deities are not observable entities in the physical world; their existence depends entirely on human belief and cultural transmission. The gods of ancient Greece, for example, were once worshipped as real and powerful, but today are regarded as myths. Similarly, the gods of modern religions are real and influential only to the extent that people believe in them and act accordingly. If belief in a particular god disappears, so does the god’s influence and presence in society. Thus, gods exist as powerful ideas and narratives within human cultures, not as objectively verifiable beings.

2. There Are No Nations Except in Our Collective Imagination

Nations are not natural features of the earth; there are no physical lines dividing one country from another. The concept of a nation is a social construct—an agreement among people to recognize certain territories, governments, and identities. The United States, for example, exists because millions of people agree to recognize its borders, laws, and symbols. If this collective agreement were to dissolve, the nation itself would cease to exist in any meaningful way. National identity, citizenship, and patriotism are all rooted in shared stories, symbols, and rituals that bind people together, but these constructs have no existence outside of human belief and cooperation.

3. There Is No Money Except in Our Collective Imagination

Money, whether in the form of coins, paper bills, or digital entries, has no intrinsic value. A $100 bill is just a piece of decorated paper; a digital bank balance is merely a string of numbers. Money functions only because people collectively agree to treat it as valuable and to accept it in exchange for goods and services. Throughout history, societies have used shells, beads, metal coins, and electronic credits as money—not because of their physical properties, but because of shared trust and belief. If everyone stopped believing in the value of a particular currency, it would instantly become worthless. Thus, money is a shared fiction that enables complex economic cooperation, but it exists only as long as we collectively imagine it does.

4. There Are No Human Rights Except in Our Collective Imagination

Human rights, such as the right to life, liberty, or equality, are not found in nature. They do not exist as physical laws or biological facts. In the natural world, there is no evidence that any species, including humans, are born with inherent rights. Human rights are moral principles that societies agree to uphold, enshrined in documents like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Their existence depends entirely on human recognition, respect, and enforcement. Where societies do not acknowledge these rights, they effectively do not exist. Thus, human rights are powerful and important ideas, but they are ultimately products of human imagination and consensus.