Thanks for this, Matt. Yes, as is often said, collapse is already happening, but it is not evenly distributed. Those who are already facing wars, climate-related destruction, political repression, economic instability, or social disruption are not questioning collapse. They are living it.
Opening our eyes and accepting collapse now as a slow-then-fast crumbling of systems can buy us precious time to 1) be grateful for this planet and the best parts of our lives, even as they shift, and 2) leverage that love for what we are losing as creative energy to protect what we can and collaborate and care for the people and all living things right where we are.
Quote: "We have pushed past 6 of 9 planetary boundaries that serve as our life support system, and our politics, our law, our investment decisions and our collective culture just shrugs. Many know collapse is coming, but it isn’t profitable to address it, and if you do address it, you will likely fall behind your neighbor, who is carrying on with growth. So the cultural, political, and economic messages we all get are: “don’t worry about it. Make hay while the sun shines”."
Great words Matt! Free fall is the metaphor which, in this case, is not really a metaphor. I'm not into starting an argument, but from my way of seeing, the inevitability of the collapse began before most of us were born. So . . . if I accept my experience/perceptions as true, it means I have never yet known anything other than collapse. It's been happening all along, all my life. For me, this changes my realizations and understandings. When I talk to anyone who doesn't see it this way, who sees now as Stable, and is waiting, waiting, waiting, for Collapse to begin, I have to admit, it's near impossible to find common ground to meet upon.
The speed, scope, and scale of this anthropogenic extinction event is, I think, still completely unrecognizable to most people who talk about collapse.
I do not despair, nor do I choose fatalism or nihilism.
My own response is to ground myself in loving relationship with other humans and - as much as I can do - with all of my more-than-human relations in the Creation.
As we create small beloved communities of care, we become who we have always been meant to be.
We are not here to create eternal empires or to destroy empires. We are here to love. We get a very little bit of time to do that.
As a relatively old man, I believe more than ever that we do help to midwife the future when we are loving, that future is as wild to us - and as beyond our control- as is the past.
When we are humble and loving we do our real part in the great sacred body of the Universe.
My guess is that we now cannot even imagine a global civilization or technologies that would nurture life rather than destroy life on earth.
But no matter.
When we choose to love moment after moment, and live into the question of how to love all that is, we are making the path we are meant to make.
Thanks, Matt, for this well-considered piece. To be clear for your readers, the section of the quote which appears to be attributed to me. is actually a direct quote from the most prominent internationally recognised Degrowth advocate, and author of "Less Is More", Prof. Jason Hickel.
Yes - thanks for saying so - "Collapse is already happening. It will not go away go away if you close your eyes and refuse to look..."
The simple little bottom line you set out got me musing. First, none of the collapsed civilizations had the Internet, or the technological skills we have. So what does that get us? A playing field to keep evolving. Putting all minds to it, who knows what we would come up with, even addressing the collapse supporters with things that could be done?
Better not to count us out. I could see rampant creativity ahead, developing community-based, sustainable systems and whatever compensates for what we’ve lost, in a next iteration of what humanity is all about.
in real life, in Nature, we never see animals do such things, rushing off a cliff and make a strange face … wonder why? If you wish to understand collapse, from a real grounded reference, as a dialectic, check out what happens inside slums allover the world, inside every megacity .. stages and details of collapse that is.
Thanks for this, Matt. Yes, as is often said, collapse is already happening, but it is not evenly distributed. Those who are already facing wars, climate-related destruction, political repression, economic instability, or social disruption are not questioning collapse. They are living it.
Opening our eyes and accepting collapse now as a slow-then-fast crumbling of systems can buy us precious time to 1) be grateful for this planet and the best parts of our lives, even as they shift, and 2) leverage that love for what we are losing as creative energy to protect what we can and collaborate and care for the people and all living things right where we are.
Quote: "We have pushed past 6 of 9 planetary boundaries that serve as our life support system, and our politics, our law, our investment decisions and our collective culture just shrugs. Many know collapse is coming, but it isn’t profitable to address it, and if you do address it, you will likely fall behind your neighbor, who is carrying on with growth. So the cultural, political, and economic messages we all get are: “don’t worry about it. Make hay while the sun shines”."
Unfortunately, this statement is outdated. We have actually pushed past 7 of 9 planetary boundaries, as ocean acidification was added last month: https://x.com/PCarterClimate/status/1946448873612059135
Erik,
I had seen that one place, but hadn't seen it again so I wasn't sure. No good either way.
Great words Matt! Free fall is the metaphor which, in this case, is not really a metaphor. I'm not into starting an argument, but from my way of seeing, the inevitability of the collapse began before most of us were born. So . . . if I accept my experience/perceptions as true, it means I have never yet known anything other than collapse. It's been happening all along, all my life. For me, this changes my realizations and understandings. When I talk to anyone who doesn't see it this way, who sees now as Stable, and is waiting, waiting, waiting, for Collapse to begin, I have to admit, it's near impossible to find common ground to meet upon.
Well said, and rarely uttered. It’s not like things were fine and stable until 1952, or 1988, or 2013. 👏
The speed, scope, and scale of this anthropogenic extinction event is, I think, still completely unrecognizable to most people who talk about collapse.
I do not despair, nor do I choose fatalism or nihilism.
My own response is to ground myself in loving relationship with other humans and - as much as I can do - with all of my more-than-human relations in the Creation.
As we create small beloved communities of care, we become who we have always been meant to be.
We are not here to create eternal empires or to destroy empires. We are here to love. We get a very little bit of time to do that.
As a relatively old man, I believe more than ever that we do help to midwife the future when we are loving, that future is as wild to us - and as beyond our control- as is the past.
When we are humble and loving we do our real part in the great sacred body of the Universe.
My guess is that we now cannot even imagine a global civilization or technologies that would nurture life rather than destroy life on earth.
But no matter.
When we choose to love moment after moment, and live into the question of how to love all that is, we are making the path we are meant to make.
Keep loving and living into the questions….
Well said sir.
Thanks, Matt, for this well-considered piece. To be clear for your readers, the section of the quote which appears to be attributed to me. is actually a direct quote from the most prominent internationally recognised Degrowth advocate, and author of "Less Is More", Prof. Jason Hickel.
Yes - thanks for saying so - "Collapse is already happening. It will not go away go away if you close your eyes and refuse to look..."
Thanks Tristan. No worries. Thanks for setting the record straight.
The only thing falling is support for these wild theories you keep pushing..... we need to stop worrying and get on with it!
The simple little bottom line you set out got me musing. First, none of the collapsed civilizations had the Internet, or the technological skills we have. So what does that get us? A playing field to keep evolving. Putting all minds to it, who knows what we would come up with, even addressing the collapse supporters with things that could be done?
Better not to count us out. I could see rampant creativity ahead, developing community-based, sustainable systems and whatever compensates for what we’ve lost, in a next iteration of what humanity is all about.
in real life, in Nature, we never see animals do such things, rushing off a cliff and make a strange face … wonder why? If you wish to understand collapse, from a real grounded reference, as a dialectic, check out what happens inside slums allover the world, inside every megacity .. stages and details of collapse that is.