If we look at China's taking of Tibet or colonialist taking of Native American territories via genocide in the founding of the US it wasn't based on who the more ethical actor was. What wins in the short term forces everybody to race towards that thing even if everyone racing towards that thing makes an entire system self-terminate in the long term. That's what we call the multipolar trap and you could define it as a property of the super organism to exploit all the energy in its environment and then hit a cliff. It seems like they're winning at a very short term game but they are actually then killing the host that they depend upon.
In this fourth installment of conversations with Daniel Schmachtenberger, we dive deeper into the nuances of humans using energy, materials and technology. Human’s ability to develop and use tools is one of our greatest strengths - yet has also led to increasing destruction of the natural world. How does technology intensify the binding effects of a world order based on growth? Is there any way out - or could global solutions just make the problem worse?
About Daniel Schmachtenberger:
Daniel Schmachtenberger is a founding member of The Consilience Project, aimed at improving public sensemaking and dialogue.
The throughline of his interests has to do with ways of improving the health and development of individuals and society, with a virtuous relationship between the two as a goal.
Towards these ends, he’s had particular interest in the topics of catastrophic and existential risk, civilization and institutional decay and collapse as well as progress, collective action problems, social organization theories, and the relevant domains in philosophy and science.
For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/42-daniel-schmachtenberger