What Is the Polycrisis?

A Tangle of Interconnected Problems

The term “polycrisis” denotes the multiple, interrelated crises of our time.

  • Multiple ecological crises:
    • climate change
    • pollution of various kinds (plastics, pesticides, nuclear waste/fallout, unmetabolized medications, etc.)
    • spread of invasive species
    • destruction of animal habitats
    • overfishing and overhunting
    • etc.
  • Multiple socio-economic crises:
    • the rise of a global economy which benefits (on the short term) a wealthy minority, exploiting workers and the planet
    • rise of authoritarianism, extremism, and technocrats
    • loss of traditional spiritual, religious, and/or cultural teachings
    • culture clashes between “conservative” and “progressive” movements, and manipulation of those movements by elites
    • rising prices and deteriorating quality of goods and services
    • a dismal job market (in which most available jobs are alienating, infantilizing, unstable, stressful, and/or inadequately compensated)
    • new technologies (such as powerful, resource-hungry AI models) being deployed without meaningful accountability and oversight
    • etc.
  • Apparent intervention by intelligent species from off-world, with the evidence indicating they are pursuing their own interests without regard for human rights and values.
Hyper-urbanization Got Us Here

We seem to have gotten here basically through the aggressive spread of a few varieties of human society/culture that became dedicated to intensive agriculture, leading to urbanization, and then hyper-urbanization, and now a globalized hyper-urban civilization. This globalized socio-economic system prioritizes the accumulation of “wealth” by individuals above the flourishing (or even survival) of life on our planet.

Purposeful Action Is Now Required

To curb our self-destructive actions, it seems our best hope is in our capacity, as a species, to become aware of the process of our own evolution as part of Earth’s one megabiome. And, as that evolution continues to unfold, we must become purposeful, moving forward responsibly, with our powers directed toward the good of the whole of life, not merely individual self-interest.

So far, we have been extremely reckless, with most of our leaders, as well as the general populace, in varying levels of ignorance/denial about the extent and severity of the polycrisis (a crisis which extends far beyond climate change).

One Person Will Not Turn the Tide; Many People Might

Changes need to be made at the population level. Individuals are not positioned to make dramatic societal changes. Even individuals in “high places” are constrained by the dynamics of the systems in which they operate.

But change may be effected through the actions of many individuals working together—or even separately, but in the same direction. You, personally, may not be destined to become the leader or organizer of a large number of people. But your work of growing in awareness, living responsibly, and building community may influence others far beyond your direct interactions.

Many people acting irresponsibly, most with very little power, got us into this mess. It will take many people taking responsibility, most with very little power, to turn things around.