The inevitability of social ‘breakdown’ or ‘collapse’

Social 'Breakdown' or 'Collapse'

I’m beginning to feel that I’m getting somewhere now because the debate – and my thinking – is opening up, broadening, and I very much value that.

Two issues which I’m drawn to thinking about more are ...

We Need to Prepare for/Adapt to Change:

A number of my followers have sent comments on my FB page, several coming from Deep Adaptation whose basic premise is societal ‘breakdown’ or ‘collapse’ will happen as a result of multiple crises including the climate emergency, species extinction, extreme weather events, forced migration and much more.

Phew!!

Different people within DAF view this as likely, inevitable or already happening.

Whichever term we choose, it describes the ending of our modern ways of sustaining human life.

The Deep Adaptation Forum works towards: ‘Connecting people, in all spheres of life, to foster mutual support and collaboration in the process of anticipating, observing, and experiencing societal disruption and collapse.’

I really like the sound of that.

Our power as individuals to bring about change:

I believe that to feel one has any power to move our poor old world in a different direction one needs ‘hope’. I guess this is why those in positions of power, keen to maintain the status quo, bombard us with stories of gloom and doom, rarely highlighting the good news of people thinking and living differently. By ‘doom-mongering’ they work hard to stop us feeling hope. I’ve learned that fear has been used as a weapon of control since the beginning of time.

I’m sometimes taken to task for using the word ‘hope’. Perhaps people see it as an emotion which involves shutting one’s eyes, crossing fingers and hoping for the best.

But, no, I choose to see hope in the way described by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone in their very timely book - Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power.

I reckon it’s worth quoting in full the section of the book which really tuned me in:

‘Active Hope is about becoming active participants in the process of moving toward our hopes and, where we can, realising them. Active Hope is a practice. Like Tai Chi or gardening, it is something we do rather than have. It is a process we can apply to any situation, and it involves three key steps:

‘First, we start from where we are by taking in a clear view of reality, acknowledging what we see and how we feel.’ (Not easy. When times are hard, isn’t it easier to get on with everyday concerns giving very little attention to the news and what’s going on in the world?)

‘Second, we identify what we hope for in terms of the direction we’d like things to move in and the values we’d like to see expressed.’ (I’ve found that lots of people are beginning to describe their vision of how they’d like our future world to be)

‘And, third, we take steps to move ourselves or our situation in that direction.’ (I’ve been pretty amazed to find that so many people are thinking and living differently, protesting and campaigning and even going so far as to serve time in prison in defence of their beliefs).

When I need someone to lift my spirits and spur me on I turn to the American historian and activist Howard Zinn who pours forth messages of hope and optimism:

‘To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness ……. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.’

If you’d like to know more:

‘Active Hope - How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy’ by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone: Pub New World Library 2012

Lots of futuristic stories -

In the XR Wordsmiths’ story showcase: https://www.solarpunkstorytelling.com/

And

Rob Hopkins ‘From What is to What if’ -