Every society we create sooner or later faces the challenge of keeping up with an escalating demand for resources. Although there is an immense drive to acquire more, there is never any strategy to conserve or manage what is already there. Degrowth may be omnipresent in nature, but it has never been accomplished in a human … Continue reading History Will Not Repeat Itself
The war humanity is waging on all other species has already killed much of the ecosystem. The superorganism is dying. Rather than celebrating our shared chemical and genetic lineage, we have been in war with other life forms since the beginning of time. Our track record is one of genocide and extinction, because this is … Continue reading A Civilisation Built on Conflict and Supremacy
In my book In the Grip of Necrocapitalism I introduce the concept of conflict as a narrative for civilisation. Throughout human history we have viewed the world as a series of conflicts rather than mutually beneficial collaborations between humans and other species: an unprovoked conflict with nature, an unprovoked conflict with other humans, and a … Continue reading The Biggest Tariff of Them All
When I warned years ago that the climate crisis would be completely forgotten in a few years, I was ignored like some type of attention-seeking “boy cried wolf” conspiracist. But I meant what I said. And I still mean it, and events prove me right. Just look around, even the worst-case scenario didn’t look this … Continue reading Overshoot Deficit Disorder
The short-term nature of this civilisation is evident in its short-term economic system: impulse buying, instant gratification, single-use commodities and single-use natural resources are all manifestations of a mindset that systematically ignores long-term repercussions. Our psychological coping mechanisms and addictions seek short term relief in unhealthy foods, drugs, and habits that make us feel good … Continue reading Live Fast, Die Young: The Great Procrastination
Our powerful, charismatic brain is not designed for long-term planning and projecting. Its impressive capacity to solve problems is at its peak only when these problems are present right here, right now. From a survival point of view, the “right here right now” is much more important than 10 years from now, or even 10 … Continue reading The longest 10 minutes of your life have just begun
Our naturally dismissive attitude towards impending disasters is woven into the geological history of this planet. Our brain did not evolve in the midst of catastrophes, but during one of the most climatically stable and abundant times in Earth’s history. Resources were infinitely plentiful in relation to our consumption, and the climate remained stable enough … Continue reading A Brain from Another Time
With any economy, the faster you grow and expand, the sooner you die, just like an obesity patient. There is, however, one economy in the world who has got it right. It neither grows nor dies, and actually manages to stay the same, or at least it did, until recently. It is the oldest economy … Continue reading The Biggest, Oldest Economy In The World Is Burning
Humans suffer from the perversion of perfectionism, which leads to insecurity, greed, selfishness, jealousy and conflict. But our nature is to be imperfect. In fact, all of nature is imperfect. Yet it continues, it survives, without ever looking back or looking down. All that matters is now. Humanity has been torturing itself since its very … Continue reading On Intelligence
Yesterday at the beach I saw a dog that reminded me what it feels like to be a healthy human. It was a tiny brown poodle with an aqua-green sweater that more than made up for its size in sassiness, sexiness, energy, and as Iggy Pop would say, lust for life. The sad part in … Continue reading The Happiness Report: Zombies At the Beach
