being a good neighbor in the face of collapse

needing each other through the inevitable demise

The world is changing. Things we once took for granted don't seem so solid anymore. Safe homes in a predictable climate. Democracy. A government that (generally) follows laws and norms, holds people accountable for bad behavior, and maintains a semblance of order and fairness. (Mostly) equal rights for women. Access to truth. Commitment to science. It's all on its way out the door.

As a millennial growing up in the United States, I've only known a world where the systems and social structures that scaffold life pretty much worked (not perfectly, by any means, but reliably). Society progressed for the vast majority of us; prosperity seemed inevitable.

And then it wasn't.

The last few decades have ushered in a slow degradation of society. Many Americans are no longer better off than their parents. In the Reagan era, political leaders opened their arms to neoliberalism and tried a grand experiment of "trickle-down economics." This worked exceptionally well for the uber-wealthy, who decided what trickled down and what they retained for themselves.

Unsurprisingly, not much trickled down.¹ The uber-wealthy hoarded power, resources, opportunity, and wealth, leaving most people behind. "The elites" put government and corporations to work for themselves and let slide the cornerstones of a liberal government that worked for most Americans.

They gave the plebians things like ultra-processed food, carbon pollution and climate change, consumption addictions, unwalkable cities, low-paying jobs, opioids, and heart disease. They took the cash and the plebian souls. Thanks, friends. 🫶🏻

We've seen massive increases in income inequality and declines in quality of life. Many Americans view the government as a wasteful, unhelpful institution. That attitude reflects their personal experience, as the government takes their money via taxes and disproportionately reallocates the benefits to the wealthiest among us.

The information age and attention economy encapsulated inside capitalism are reducing humanity to little more than isolated data points and vehicles of consumption. They're tearing apart society as they empty our collective bank accounts of community connections and social capital while sending financial capital upstream.

Zoom out, and it's evident that the world as we know it is collapsing. Climate. Democracy. Fertility. Truth. Social trust. Resiliency. Globalization. Spirituality. Society and the world order most of us have known since birth are failing us and falling apart.

I can't enumerate an exhaustive list of what collapse means or how it manifests in our daily lives—I doubt any individual can—and it would be an entire volume of books anyway. However, some of the collapse we witness occur in our everyday lives.

» civility and social trust collapse

While we once valued honesty and accuracy, truth and lies are now interchangeable and equal. Our media and communities suggest there are "two sides" to every story, even when one side is entirely fabricated for manipulation and exploitation. Only what serves the narrative matters. Lies are easy, valuable, and profitable to spread, so they prevail.

Kindness, civility, and humility are core values of the past. Social media dumbs down nearly every conversation into black and white; nuance doesn't fit in short-form video. We have very few remaining third spaces where people from different walks of life can coalesce and connect. We operate in oversimplified silos and echo chambers while losing our pro-social skills of learning how to get along and disagree with compassion.

We've forgotten how to be respectful in public² and endure discomfort in spaces with people who are different from or don't agree with us. We struggle to coexist with the friction of third spaces and communal places.

» climate collapse

The Earth is dying before our eyes, and we're experiencing the costs of such demise with greater ferocity. Unprecedented natural disasters have become the norm. Places once considered climate havens are no longer safe from the deluge of wind, water, fire, and Mother Nature's rage. There are no climate havens (and anything close to one will be inundated by climate refugees who've lost their homes to climate peril). It’s coming at us faster than we once imagined.

» democracy collapse

The United States has been backsliding away from democracy for decades due to forces like election interference and executive overreach. The Supreme Court has been chipping away at the Voting Rights Acts for years. The Citizens United vs. FEC court case opened avenues for corporate and ultra-wealthy parties to expedite the demise of democracy as they paid for political power and influence without limitation. We’ve seen more executive power accumulate with each new President.

The arrival of Trump in Washington moved that process forward at warp speed. He disregards constitutional checks and balances, fires those who don't proclaim loyalty to him over the Constitution, and consolidates power with each passing day. He seeks to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters with legislation like the SAVE Act. Trump was elected primarily due to the unlimited and unfettered attention devoted to him by billionaires leading up to and influencing the 2024 election. 

» fertility collapse

Culturally and scientifically, we're seeing a collapse of fertility. Rapidly increased toxins in our environment reduce biological fertility. Widespread toxins³ in our environment derive from capitalist motives driven by profit priorities over protecting people’s health and wellness. Capitalism chooses not to assign value to "externalities" like pollution and toxic chemicals that bear actual costs to humans but aren't accounted for on a balance sheet or income statement.

For various reasons, families are choosing to have fewer children as well. In some cases, a lack of interest drives the decline. It's not unfathomable to shy away from bringing children into a collapsing world.

Birth control, IVF, access to advanced education and workplace opportunities, and an overall commitment to women's equality have also given women the option to decline a lifestyle dedicated solely to motherhood. Many women never wanted such a limited path through adulthood but were forced to accept it for scientific and cultural reasons in the past. For now,⁴ we have choices (and many women are choosing more than just motherhood).

» economic collapse

Massive income inequality, fueled by corruption and poor policy, contributes to the functional collapse of effective capitalism. The income inequality flywheel begets more corruption, paid for by excess wealth, which affords more income inequality, and the cycle continues.

Capitalism predictably extracts and exploits resources to seek profit; that's how it's designed. It needs an equally powerful counter institution, like a strong government, to give it rules and guardrails inside of which to operate to protect the society that serves it.

Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO, and Jon Stewart discuss this idea, and Ballmer describes it well. In the following video, which I think I’ve shared before (because it’s insightful), Ballmer says:

“That fact that capitalism is predictable is actually a great tool for the government. Government then needs to train this highly predictable tool to do what society wants it to do.”⁵

One role of democracy is to inform where we want to point this highly predictable, profit-seeking motive of capitalism. We can create guardrails to force capitalism to act in a way that cares for humanity.

Instead, neoliberalism broke capitalism. It created legislation and regulations that point capitalism toward consolidating wealth at the top of society and creating opportunities for excess influence from corporations and wealthy individuals.

At times, those guardrails (i.e., regulations) and the agencies that enforce them have been infiltrated by the capitalists they were supposed to regulate. Corporate lobbyists, unlimited campaign contributions, and a revolving door between industry and government agencies can create a cozy environment between the rule makers and breakers. However, the government’s regulatory and enforcement agencies are composed mainly of civil servants who do their work with integrity.

Under the premise that regulators and industry folks are in bed together, the Trump administration is burning down the guardrail institutions en masse. Anyone with an eye for critical thinking knows that burning down the guardrails means capitalist motives have no limitations with which to contend. This will be even worse than when the guardrails were porous or inconsistent.

Democracy as a tool to humanely direct capitalism is being discarded, paving an even broader path to corruption, abuse, and injustice. That’s the whole point!

There are at least 13 billionaires in Trump's cabinet and many more in the dark corners empowering the destruction. The wealthy have more power and influence than at any time in recent history. We'd be fools to think that today is the day they start limiting their power and influence with good governance or letting their wealth trickle down faster than the dribbling pace of the past.

Moreover, our economy is built on the pursuit of infinite growth derived from finite resources. That objective is impossible to achieve in perpetuity. Our climate chaos tells us we've reached the point where the planet's limited resources can no longer support over-extraction.

An economy built on perpetual growth also relies on increasing fertility. Someone needs to consume all the goods produced. As physical resources degrade or dry up and population growth rates decline, the heyday of growth-focused capitalism will crumble under corruption and a lack of resources to exploit and consume.

The capitalism that served prosperity by borrowing from Peter to pay Paul is gone. The American Dream is dead.⁶

» resiliency collapse

We're seeing a collapse of resiliency. Kids are overprotected, especially in the real world (less so online), and they are not developing the emotional grit and resiliency to endure a complex and challenging world. Parents excessively protect kids from the pain of failure. Despite its inevitability, parents leave children unprepared when they can no longer be sheltered from life’s normal ebbs and flows of failure and success.

Smartphones, especially social media, and their constant dopamine hit enable all of us to avoid wrestling with challenging emotions and build mental callouses in the face of adversity. This diminished resiliency feeds into our degraded civility and the antisocial behavior splintering society.

» globalization collapse

Since World War II, we've lived through a period of increasing globalization, defined by relative world peace, thanks largely to the United States maintaining a presence of power and influence over a specific global order. The alliances and investments made in public partnerships and business relationships across international borders are quickly morphing and disappearing. Globalization, as we know it, is shattering before our eyes.

» independent media collapse

The media landscape is changing dramatically. Mainstream news outlets inside much larger corporate organizations have less freedom to critique and criticize government organizations for fear of retribution (to related businesses more than to the news organizations themselves).

The media landscape is much more decentralized, full of silos and echo chambers where truth and integrity are optional. Citizens of a place may no longer live in the same media environment with a shared source of information. Neighbors operate in separate realities of perceived truth, while media outlets have widely varying commitments to integrity and facts.

» faith and spirituality collapse

With a hyper-focus on individual freedom and self-service, we've lost a broader commitment to wisdom and knowledge for a higher purpose. Few seek purpose and collective being beyond and for something greater than ourselves. Rainn Wilson dives into this more deeply in his book Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution.

To be clear, I'm not referring to a collapse in church attendance or participation in structured religion, although that may be happening. I especially don't despair about declining membership in high-control religions, where rule-following is prioritized over genuine connection with a larger purpose or collective being.

However, something seems to be missing from a shared commitment to the community and the greater good. I suppose it's fed by capitalism ignoring our souls and data mining us only as consumers, declining resiliency to share spaces and conversations with others uncomfortably, and an overall demise of civility. It's no surprise it's all connected.

trump capitalized on this and made it so much worse

Donald Trump recognized the despair and disserve felt by everyday Americans at the hands of collapsing institutions and cultural divergence. He's not wrong that our institutions aren't working as promised or that society is breaking apart.

"It was the lack of accountability we had witnessed now for decades for the rich and powerful. It was the way the rich were able to destroy our livelihoods with impunity, the way so many people in power we had seen use regular people to achieve even more power walked away with no accountability, the way many of them then went on to continue to hold positions of power..." (Source)

A perfect storm of ignorance, indulgence, misinformation, desperation, and cultish trust swirled to lead us directly into the wildfires of an already-impending collapse. Then Trump spent the last decade setting everything around it on fire, only to look the world in the eye and blame everyone else for the scorched ruins left behind. Despite the insanity, people believe him.

Trump’s vitriol and rage, and permission for others to follow suit, further diminish civility and humanity. His methods of recklessly defunding the government to give tax cuts to wealthy individuals and slashing regulation so it's easier for big companies to exploit the people, resources, and institutions around it for profit exacerbate the problem. He promises to solve real problems by doubling down on the bullsh*t that caused them, and people are eating it up with abandon. 😲

what can climate action teach us about collective response to collapse?

Many years ago, I started writing about climate change and sustainable living. Resiliency in a climate crisis is best approached collectively. We need our families, friends, neighbors, and communities to work together to contend with the coming collapse.

As climate disasters escalate, everything else is falling apart around us. We are living through a civilization collapse, not just a climate collapse. Soon, the systems and culture we know and take for granted will be unrecognizable.

Every living organism and community is born, lives, and dies. Every civilization collapses. I expect I will live to see that come to fruition for the global, liberal, capitalist democracy I've known my entire life. Humanity is chasing a race to the bottom, and we will watch our reliable social structures and institutions crumble as we propel downward.

“All civilisations, like everything alive on this planet, go through the cycles of life: birth, growth, flowering, harvesting, dying. It is essential to recognise that we are in the final stage of this cycle.” – Margaret Wheatley

I have no idea what will happen next, but I anticipate the transition will be challenging. We will find solace, support, and resiliency in our community connections and close family, friends, and neighbor networks.

what's on the other side of collapse?

It sounds scary. Maybe it is. Or maybe what's on the other side is better?

A few months ago, a guest on What If We Get It Right, a podcast about climate change and how beautiful it might be if we get climate solutions right, analogized our current state with the birthing phase of a newborn baby.

As the baby proceeds down the birth canal, it's dark and scary. The baby doesn't know what's on the other side. From our vantage point, we know that the dark canal is a portal to a new world much richer, brighter, and more colorful than the world that preceded it. What if we're in a collapse that feels like that dark canal and leads to a new world of prosperity?

transition is unknown and difficult

Transition is hard, no matter the destination. Fallout feels terrible. While we can’t predict what's coming or going, connections with our neighbors, families, and communities will make enduring any collapse easier.

In the face of climate and civilization collapse, being a sage neighbor (wise, green, kind, reflective) will pay big dividends. When a flood or fire destroys your home, community helpers show up to mend what's broken.

When outrage media seeks to divide us for profit, real-life human connections heal the divides and remind us that we are more complex and aligned than any profit-hungry outlet wants us to believe.

When there's no longer a distinction between fact and fiction, love and care among family, neighbors, and friends may be the only solid ground on which to stand.

We can only imagine what a new future will bring, but we can almost certainly expect to need each other to move through it and grapple with its challenges.

On the other side, there might be something beautiful and worth fighting for, especially if we work to create it. Climate activists have been discussing this for some time. Imagine walkable cities, regenerative farms, and a slightly slower, less stressful pace of life.

Imagine being valued by our hearts and souls instead of our possessions and wallets. What if prosperity was measured by human happiness and dignity metrics and not simply by extraction of the Earth's resources or the products of our labor? What if the other side of collapse looks more like stronger towns and cohesive communities? It could be good.

Getting through the tumultuous change to see the other side will not be good. We can already see that. Elon Musk and his epic destruction may find waste, fraud, and abuse. I bet they will.

But they've already shown they're throwing the baby out with the bath water. They're willing to destroy everything and find out later what needs to be replaced, indifferent to the pain and suffering that chaos and destruction create in their path.

They're willing to f*ck around and find out with humanity and society as collateral damage. Some will benefit; most won't. But we will need each other through the journey. It’s up to us to get through the tumult with care and in community.

As June Jordan ended her Poem for South African Women:

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

1. Now they fly themselves in rockets to space, funded by our impulsive purchases of sh*tty crap from China.

2. Can someone please do something about video chats and phone calls on speakerphones in public spaces? When did this become acceptable?!

3. PFAS and other endocrine disruptors are examples of the toxins pervasive in our ecosystems and disrupting our hormonal and fertility systems.

4. Right-wing Republicans are hard at work to limit and effectively eliminate some of the rights that have given women far more equality in our society. Fertility declines fuel their arguments under the guise that it’s women’s role from God to be child bearers first and foremost, at the expense of everything else should that be necessary to bear and raise a family.

5. If the video doesn’t take you to the right spot, start around minute 13:27. The quote I include is around minute 14:11.

6. Dark Matters Labs radicalizes how we think about the economy, society, and civic life. Its approach is deep and different, and I'm still learning, but it's interesting and worth exploring.