James Gustave Speth argues that the polycrisis has undermined earlier hopes for steady, gradual, progressive change, but is also stimulating new and unconventional visions for transformative change that should not be quickly dismissed.
You Say You Want a Revolution: Dreaming of New Futures in the Polycrisis Read More »
Addressing critiques of the polycrisis concept from the political right and left, Thomas Homer-Dixon argues that the world is in a polycrisis generated by novel and unprecedented conditions, as measured by total human energy consumption, Earth’s energy imbalance, the human population’s total biomass, and global connectivity. He then highlights the interconnected nature of contemporary problems
Why So Much is Going Wrong at the Same Time Read More »
Joseph Fiskel argues that the Maui wildfire reveals just how unprepared communities are to face polycrises. In response, he advocates systems thinking and greater resilience: “Rather than simply ‘bouncing back’ from crises, a resilient organization will ‘bounce forward’ by sensing threats, adapting to new conditions, and improving its responsiveness to surprise events. This requires long-term thinking,
Hawaii Wildfires Expose Need for Resilience in a Polycrisis World Read More »
The authors argue that a trigger event can’t start a crisis by itself; some underlying stress or stresses must also be operating. They contend that leaders should pay far more attention to these stresses, because they’re ultimately far more important. The original title of the article was “Let’s Avoid ‘Trigger Fixation.” The Globe and Mail
Let’s Avoid ‘Trigger Fixation’ Read More »
George Monbiot argues that a vicious cycle is emerging between the rise of the political right, roll-backs of environmental policy and protections, increased migration, and worsening discrimination against refugees. “As millions are driven from their homes by climate disasters, the extreme right exploits their misery to extend its reach. As the extreme right gains power,
The Hard Right and Climate Change are Intimately Linked Read More »
George Soros argues that there are three main sources of the polycrisis (in order of importance): artificial intelligence, climate change, and Russia’s war on Ukraine. AI poses a “mortal threat” to open societies via disinformation, and it provides closed societies new instruments of surveillance and control; climate change threatens to make large areas uninhabitable; but
Can Democracy Survive the Polycrisis? Read More »
Steffan Heuer discusses the definition of polycrisis, some of the crises facing the world today, and the shortcomings of current approaches that target more immediate issues. “While the term is not new, polycrisis has taken on a new meaning and new urgency as governments, think tanks and ordinary citizens try to get their heads around
How to Deal with a World of Polycrisis? Read More »
The authors discuss how Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) have limited capacity to navigate complex, interconnected global crises. They advocate for the integration of transdisciplinary approaches, including socio-technical transitions and diverse stakeholder perspectives, to chart sustainable pathways through the polycrisis.
The authors respond to criticism of the use of the word “polycrisis”, arguing that the world’s current crises are in many ways unprecedented and thus merit a new word and require new forms of analysis. They argue, “the past isn’t a good guide to our present and future. Too many basic parameters – such as
Dismissing the Term ‘Polycrisis’ has One Inevitable Consequence – Reality Always Bites Read More »
Adam Tooze argues that there are three ways to reconcile “the feverish talk of deglobalisation and decoupling” with statistics that “show an inertial continuity in trade and investment patterns: business as usual, insofar as nothing has changed and the deglobalisation talk is empty; a new Cold War in which the US is trying seriously to
Three Ways to Read the ‘Deglobalisation’ Debate Read More »
