Chusana, I've been writing a whole book about this territory - for years, I'm afraid! - and you've elegantly captured it in this post. The three-way conversation with Iain, John and Daniel was indeed a great and worthwhile watch, and you've synthesised it really well. This was a really valuable read. Many thanks for taking the time.
Paula, it's such a huge compliment to be told that I've synthesised the concept well. Thank you for that. I feel so drawn to this topic and it's becoming a personal mission of mine to help others make sense of what's happening around all of us. In a way, I want us to feel 'less alone' by normalising conversations that used to carry so much shame and guilt. Well, at least in my culture, we are sternly told off when we 'think too much' or 'think too deep'. It's a social conundrum really!
I tend to apply the entirety of my focus on that which I have a front row seat, and first hand potential to control, exploring concepts regarding my mind as an individual and as a member of this human race. I suppose it's my own personal form of activism, since I believe that I must be at my best if I hope to be of benefit to anyone else.
This is all to say that I don't typically engage in these sort of conversations, so take my two cents for what you will. I really enjoyed this piece and personally, I wasn't able to find fault in any of it. It stretched me a bit to read it all (including the historical portion). Thank you for applying all of the effort to write it out and sharing it with the world. I love when I happen to encounter intelligent and thoughtful people such as yourself. I definitely need more of that sort in my life.
Your comment is a huge compliment to me right now. I feel like we get each other mainly because we're going through the 'activism' phase of our lives right now. The realisation that the current situation simply isn't good enough, and that we can all benefit from understanding what's going on, and making a conscious effort towards things that are 'ethical'.
I'm trying to normalise the type of conversation we're having right now. With my piece, I'm trying to shine a spotlight on the fact that the systemic failure is very much intertwined with our everyday lives. The fact that most of us don't have people in our lives that talk about these things - is part of the metacrisis itself.
When Social Dilemma documentary came out, it really shocked the world..... for a bit. I'm starting to see close friends and family adopting narrower and more bitter view of the world. As we grow older, some of us lose our 'Little Prince', you know. So I'm trying to get that back in conversations. Because like my post mentioned, attention changes what it is you see. You can 'choose' to view the world negatively for all its cruelty acted upon one another. Or you can 'choose' to view the world positively for all its collective efforts towards building, creating and contributing to all the things we're enjoying at our convenience right now (physical and food security).
We just need to understand that it's an ongoing fight and that we all have a part to play. Because staying silent or acting nonchalant is enabling the bad behaviours to take centre stage. I'm going to leave you with one of my all-time favourite speech by Governor JB Pritzker, talking about kindness, which I think you'll love.
That’s really cool that we were able to connect on this topic. I was telling my wife about you and how interesting you seem.
Sorry it took me a while to respond to this. I was mainly monitoring my Reddit account, and I’m just now getting around to looking into starting a substack for my written things.
I do love that quote.
However, I have been that cruel idiot many times, and for spans of many years in my life’s story. As such, and now that (as far as I can tell) I understand myself better, I tend to label those enacting cruelty as hurting, lost, and hopefully redeemable… at least if I happen to be capable of such statements in the moment, and not caught up in minor rage as a reaction to their behavior.
So wonderful to hear that you talked to your wife about this. It's pretty cool that we're talking about the metacrisis and essentially distilling the focus back to self. All the challenges I've covered are man-made so surely the solution to it must be 'human focused'.
I wrote a piece about Narcissism right after this one because it felt so relatable to the whole discussion surrounding global systems. The current system 'rewards' and foster narcissistic tendencies, so it's not a surprise that this personality trait has been exacerbated in all of us. I also understand what it means to 'be cruel' - I'm not a stranger to that myself. And it has taken me years to reflect, understand and embrace that part of myself. So yes, I am of the camp that 'evil' does exist in all of us but it becomes an evil act only when your thought turns into action that caused harm to others.
Everyone is also redeemable (to a certain extent). The irony of it is - once you ask that question, you have already started on that journey. How far you get on that journey - that's the determining factor for me.
I believe what you depict at the end, this appears to be the nature of courage, as it can tend to play out in specific regard to our continued social interaction, “post” self-betterment.
It seems to start and end with the self, after having largely emerged from our pain and our felt embattlement of the world of others around us. I believe we can come to know ourselves thoroughly and authentically, and in turn this brings us to the realization that others are just like us.
Then there is no more pity or sense of superiority when we observe others who enact aggression. Then the only thing I end up feeling is hopeful, that I’ll maintain the strength and clarity as to not end up losing this hard fought version of myself as I move forward again, into the world of others, with some trepidation and fear of my limitations, but also with excitement for what I’ll be able to possibly bring.
We can be so problematic with each other, so powerfully hurtful. I used to hate others. Now I tend to live for myself and myself alone. I try to end up as a positive force for others whenever a situation affords me the opportunity, no longer for the same reasons as I may have in the past, as a subconsciously conditional or transactional act.
I try to do it, because I know that to be authentically kind is simply to be in a capable state, and it delivers a sense of empowerment for me. I came to see that I’m able to accept and be comfortable with the fact that I do it ultimately for myself. After all, I can only exist from within my own perspective.
Nate Hagens have some really good conversations with Schmachtenberger on his podcast, which can be found under «The Great Simplification» here on substack, highly recommended
Oh, I absolutely agree with all your points on the metacrisis part. Nice to be introduced to Jevon's paradox, I never looked at it like that before but it totally makes sense from a cost saving perspective. Even if we don't decrease the cost, I can see the increased consumption tied into increased wealth generation (if the trend is still the growing middle income).
Yes, I was recommended to Nate over on Reddit and I checked him out quickly on YT. Definitely need to widen my ecological perspective on things. I usually get super excited with Daniel's talks when it gets very deep into the psychology of the human mind. I mean, it was us who created all of this in the first place anyway. Just interesting to see how collective consciousness will be played out in the next few years. I've been hoping Daniel videos would be exploding in the media world, headlined "The Sensemaking Guru" but nope, he's still relatively unknown from a mass media angle. I am shaking my head that people like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson have more airtime than Daniel. That is part of the systemic failure in itself.
The concept of a 'metacrisis' reflects the understanding that the multitude of global crises we face today—spanning environmental, social, political, cultural, economic, and psychological domains—are not isolated incidents but are deeply interconnected. This interrelation suggests that these crises compound and influence each other, creating a more complex and challenging global situation. An enjoyable and thought provoking read Chusana!
Throughout this essay, I found myself grinning again and again, amused by how similar our interests and thoughts are. While I'm usually much more of a luddite, I have to give credit to the internet for connecting people like us to each other (although my luddite self feels compelled to point out that the internet also helps to connect neo-Nazis, longtermists, "Flat Earthers," transhumanists, and various other more or less dangerous lunatics).
Apart from that I really don't have much to add - you've said it all! Excellent work, it is so important to raise awareness about these issues.
One thing that came to mind while reading is the old E.O. Wilson quote:
"The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology."
We can get rid of technology and abandon institutions, but we can't turn our back on our emotions. It follows that we will have to radically re-imagine the very fundamentals of what we mean by both "technology" and "institutions," so that they are in better alignment with human Nature and our true selves.
Okay, there is one more thing I feel like I wanted to add (as a comment) to the section “Humanity Stories in Historical Context” – because I think that this perspective lacks from most of the dialogue around the metacrisis (Schmachtenberger talks about it occasionally, but rarely gives it the attention it deserves), although it is incredibly important. I’m aware that this exceeds the scope of your essay, and so I don’t mean to imply that you should have added it, but due to my fascination with anthropology, human evolution and prehistory I feel compelled to point it out at every opportunity I get:
The Age of Unity – (ca. 300,000 BP – ca. 10,000 BP)
For the vast majority of our species’ existence, we lived in *relative harmony* with the environment we inhabited (maybe the term ‘dynamic tension’ is more appropriate, lest one makes oneself susceptible to accusations of “romanticizing”). We were subject to various negative feedbacks, keeping our population and certain behaviors in check. We were also decidedly more egalitarian during these early days, as it is rather difficult to oppress people who are not bound to any place in particular *and* possess all the skills needed to survive off the land – you can always just pack your things and leave as a last-resort conflict resolution.
Additionally, we were an immensely successful species, settling in every conceivable habitat, from the icy Arctic to the driest deserts, and we were skilled at satisfying all our needs in a truly sustainable fashion. During that long time, we did not innovate much – our needs were so aligned with our wants that a new technology (like weaving, pottery, the bow, or the blowpipe) was continued for dozens of millennia without anyone perceiving the need to improve upon it. And while we did not construct monumental architecture for later archaeologists to marvel at, we had developed, internalized and perfected the most important lesson of all: how to live a decent life, in spite of life’s inherent difficulties and challenges, *without destroying the environment we depend on for our very lives,* and without compromising future generations’ ability to do the same. In all consequent ages, we lost and lacked this wisdom, and it is only now (once we begin to understand the true extent of our own history and our evolutionary/ecological context) that we have a chance to regain it.
Chusana, I've been writing a whole book about this territory - for years, I'm afraid! - and you've elegantly captured it in this post. The three-way conversation with Iain, John and Daniel was indeed a great and worthwhile watch, and you've synthesised it really well. This was a really valuable read. Many thanks for taking the time.
Paula, it's such a huge compliment to be told that I've synthesised the concept well. Thank you for that. I feel so drawn to this topic and it's becoming a personal mission of mine to help others make sense of what's happening around all of us. In a way, I want us to feel 'less alone' by normalising conversations that used to carry so much shame and guilt. Well, at least in my culture, we are sternly told off when we 'think too much' or 'think too deep'. It's a social conundrum really!
I tend to apply the entirety of my focus on that which I have a front row seat, and first hand potential to control, exploring concepts regarding my mind as an individual and as a member of this human race. I suppose it's my own personal form of activism, since I believe that I must be at my best if I hope to be of benefit to anyone else.
This is all to say that I don't typically engage in these sort of conversations, so take my two cents for what you will. I really enjoyed this piece and personally, I wasn't able to find fault in any of it. It stretched me a bit to read it all (including the historical portion). Thank you for applying all of the effort to write it out and sharing it with the world. I love when I happen to encounter intelligent and thoughtful people such as yourself. I definitely need more of that sort in my life.
Your comment is a huge compliment to me right now. I feel like we get each other mainly because we're going through the 'activism' phase of our lives right now. The realisation that the current situation simply isn't good enough, and that we can all benefit from understanding what's going on, and making a conscious effort towards things that are 'ethical'.
I'm trying to normalise the type of conversation we're having right now. With my piece, I'm trying to shine a spotlight on the fact that the systemic failure is very much intertwined with our everyday lives. The fact that most of us don't have people in our lives that talk about these things - is part of the metacrisis itself.
When Social Dilemma documentary came out, it really shocked the world..... for a bit. I'm starting to see close friends and family adopting narrower and more bitter view of the world. As we grow older, some of us lose our 'Little Prince', you know. So I'm trying to get that back in conversations. Because like my post mentioned, attention changes what it is you see. You can 'choose' to view the world negatively for all its cruelty acted upon one another. Or you can 'choose' to view the world positively for all its collective efforts towards building, creating and contributing to all the things we're enjoying at our convenience right now (physical and food security).
We just need to understand that it's an ongoing fight and that we all have a part to play. Because staying silent or acting nonchalant is enabling the bad behaviours to take centre stage. I'm going to leave you with one of my all-time favourite speech by Governor JB Pritzker, talking about kindness, which I think you'll love.
"The best way to spot an idiot? Look for the person who is cruel." - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uFwyPP5GOQ
That’s really cool that we were able to connect on this topic. I was telling my wife about you and how interesting you seem.
Sorry it took me a while to respond to this. I was mainly monitoring my Reddit account, and I’m just now getting around to looking into starting a substack for my written things.
I do love that quote.
However, I have been that cruel idiot many times, and for spans of many years in my life’s story. As such, and now that (as far as I can tell) I understand myself better, I tend to label those enacting cruelty as hurting, lost, and hopefully redeemable… at least if I happen to be capable of such statements in the moment, and not caught up in minor rage as a reaction to their behavior.
So wonderful to hear that you talked to your wife about this. It's pretty cool that we're talking about the metacrisis and essentially distilling the focus back to self. All the challenges I've covered are man-made so surely the solution to it must be 'human focused'.
I wrote a piece about Narcissism right after this one because it felt so relatable to the whole discussion surrounding global systems. The current system 'rewards' and foster narcissistic tendencies, so it's not a surprise that this personality trait has been exacerbated in all of us. I also understand what it means to 'be cruel' - I'm not a stranger to that myself. And it has taken me years to reflect, understand and embrace that part of myself. So yes, I am of the camp that 'evil' does exist in all of us but it becomes an evil act only when your thought turns into action that caused harm to others.
Everyone is also redeemable (to a certain extent). The irony of it is - once you ask that question, you have already started on that journey. How far you get on that journey - that's the determining factor for me.
I believe what you depict at the end, this appears to be the nature of courage, as it can tend to play out in specific regard to our continued social interaction, “post” self-betterment.
It seems to start and end with the self, after having largely emerged from our pain and our felt embattlement of the world of others around us. I believe we can come to know ourselves thoroughly and authentically, and in turn this brings us to the realization that others are just like us.
Then there is no more pity or sense of superiority when we observe others who enact aggression. Then the only thing I end up feeling is hopeful, that I’ll maintain the strength and clarity as to not end up losing this hard fought version of myself as I move forward again, into the world of others, with some trepidation and fear of my limitations, but also with excitement for what I’ll be able to possibly bring.
We can be so problematic with each other, so powerfully hurtful. I used to hate others. Now I tend to live for myself and myself alone. I try to end up as a positive force for others whenever a situation affords me the opportunity, no longer for the same reasons as I may have in the past, as a subconsciously conditional or transactional act.
I try to do it, because I know that to be authentically kind is simply to be in a capable state, and it delivers a sense of empowerment for me. I came to see that I’m able to accept and be comfortable with the fact that I do it ultimately for myself. After all, I can only exist from within my own perspective.
Never read an article this long, nevertheless it was insightful ma’am !💫
Hahaha I love your comment. Thank you for dropping by ☺️ Glad to see that you wrote something of similar topic about what it means to be human too.
A good recap of aspects of the metacrisis! I did an extremely condensed one myself in the last section of https://tmfow.substack.com/p/artificial-intelligence-and-living
Nate Hagens have some really good conversations with Schmachtenberger on his podcast, which can be found under «The Great Simplification» here on substack, highly recommended
Oh, I absolutely agree with all your points on the metacrisis part. Nice to be introduced to Jevon's paradox, I never looked at it like that before but it totally makes sense from a cost saving perspective. Even if we don't decrease the cost, I can see the increased consumption tied into increased wealth generation (if the trend is still the growing middle income).
Yes, I was recommended to Nate over on Reddit and I checked him out quickly on YT. Definitely need to widen my ecological perspective on things. I usually get super excited with Daniel's talks when it gets very deep into the psychology of the human mind. I mean, it was us who created all of this in the first place anyway. Just interesting to see how collective consciousness will be played out in the next few years. I've been hoping Daniel videos would be exploding in the media world, headlined "The Sensemaking Guru" but nope, he's still relatively unknown from a mass media angle. I am shaking my head that people like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson have more airtime than Daniel. That is part of the systemic failure in itself.
The concept of a 'metacrisis' reflects the understanding that the multitude of global crises we face today—spanning environmental, social, political, cultural, economic, and psychological domains—are not isolated incidents but are deeply interconnected. This interrelation suggests that these crises compound and influence each other, creating a more complex and challenging global situation. An enjoyable and thought provoking read Chusana!
Throughout this essay, I found myself grinning again and again, amused by how similar our interests and thoughts are. While I'm usually much more of a luddite, I have to give credit to the internet for connecting people like us to each other (although my luddite self feels compelled to point out that the internet also helps to connect neo-Nazis, longtermists, "Flat Earthers," transhumanists, and various other more or less dangerous lunatics).
Apart from that I really don't have much to add - you've said it all! Excellent work, it is so important to raise awareness about these issues.
One thing that came to mind while reading is the old E.O. Wilson quote:
"The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology."
We can get rid of technology and abandon institutions, but we can't turn our back on our emotions. It follows that we will have to radically re-imagine the very fundamentals of what we mean by both "technology" and "institutions," so that they are in better alignment with human Nature and our true selves.
Okay, there is one more thing I feel like I wanted to add (as a comment) to the section “Humanity Stories in Historical Context” – because I think that this perspective lacks from most of the dialogue around the metacrisis (Schmachtenberger talks about it occasionally, but rarely gives it the attention it deserves), although it is incredibly important. I’m aware that this exceeds the scope of your essay, and so I don’t mean to imply that you should have added it, but due to my fascination with anthropology, human evolution and prehistory I feel compelled to point it out at every opportunity I get:
The Age of Unity – (ca. 300,000 BP – ca. 10,000 BP)
For the vast majority of our species’ existence, we lived in *relative harmony* with the environment we inhabited (maybe the term ‘dynamic tension’ is more appropriate, lest one makes oneself susceptible to accusations of “romanticizing”). We were subject to various negative feedbacks, keeping our population and certain behaviors in check. We were also decidedly more egalitarian during these early days, as it is rather difficult to oppress people who are not bound to any place in particular *and* possess all the skills needed to survive off the land – you can always just pack your things and leave as a last-resort conflict resolution.
Additionally, we were an immensely successful species, settling in every conceivable habitat, from the icy Arctic to the driest deserts, and we were skilled at satisfying all our needs in a truly sustainable fashion. During that long time, we did not innovate much – our needs were so aligned with our wants that a new technology (like weaving, pottery, the bow, or the blowpipe) was continued for dozens of millennia without anyone perceiving the need to improve upon it. And while we did not construct monumental architecture for later archaeologists to marvel at, we had developed, internalized and perfected the most important lesson of all: how to live a decent life, in spite of life’s inherent difficulties and challenges, *without destroying the environment we depend on for our very lives,* and without compromising future generations’ ability to do the same. In all consequent ages, we lost and lacked this wisdom, and it is only now (once we begin to understand the true extent of our own history and our evolutionary/ecological context) that we have a chance to regain it.