The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

Nate discusses the controversy surrounding fossil fuel subsidies, including implicit subsidies and their impact on poor communities. He explores the allocation and impact of these subsidies, emphasizing the economic benefits of fossil fuels. The chapter also explores the ownership of fossil reserves and the future of fossil subsidies.

Nate Hagens and economist and anthropologist Lisi Krall discuss the evolutionary origins of our current systemic predicament, including surplus and ultrasociality. They delve into the concept of the economic superorganism, its connection to capitalism and hierarchy, and the challenges of de-growth. They also explore the role of governance, collective awareness, and the interplay of ideology and biology. The conversation contemplates our place on Earth and the need to understand the problem at hand in evolutionary terms.

The podcast discusses the different perspectives people have when engaging in 'systems' discourse. It explores filters that shape people's responses to facts, approaches to complex issues, navigating social discourse and integrating science and values, and the complexities of systems integration.

Iain McGilchrist, a literary scholar and psychiatrist, joins Nate to discuss the imbalanced use of the two lobes of our brains, and its impact on our communities and the environment. They explore the differences between the left and right hemispheres, the importance of expanding empathy, and the integration of science, imagination, and intuition. They emphasize the need for a fundamental change in our perception of the world, embracing stillness, peace, and love, and investing in wisdom and practical good works.

Nate Hagens discusses the critical importance of energy with Jean-Marc Jancovici. They explore the impact of fossil fuels on human civilization, the role of energy in technological progress, the future of global oil production, the consequences of climate change, and the connection between energy scarcity, retirement, and protests in France. They also discuss the SHIFT Project, a plan to transform the French economy, and ways to connect and collaborate in France on climate change and energy availability.

On this Reality Roundtable, Nate is joined by Jon Erickson, Josh Farley, Steve Keen, and Kate Raworth - all of whom are leading thinkers and educators in the field of heterodox economics. In this lively discussion, each guest begins by sharing one fundamental aspect of what conventional economics gets wrong and how it could be improved in our education system. What basic assumptions about humans have led to a misunderstanding of the average person’s decision-making? What areas has economics turned a blindspot to as the foundation of our economic systems? Who is finding the models and systems that economists have created useful - and how does economics as a discipline need to change in the face of a lower energy future? In short, what we teach our 18-22 year olds around the world matters - a great deal. About Jon Erickson Jon Erickson is the David Blittersdorf Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy at the University of Vermont. He has published widely on energy and climate change policy, land conservation, watershed planning, environmental public health, and the theory and practice of ecological economics.  He advised presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on economics and energy issues. About Josh Farley Joshua Farley is an ecological economist and Professor in Community Development & Applied Economics and Public Administration at the University of Vermont. He is the President of the International Society for Ecological Economics.  About Steve Keen Steve Keen is an economist, author of Debunking Economics and The New Economics: A Manifesto. He is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategy, Resilience, and Security at University College in London. About Kate Raworth Kate Raworth describes herself as a renegade economist focused on making economics fit for 21st century realities. She is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries, and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab, based on her best-selling book Doughnut Economics: 7 Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist. Kate is a Senior Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, where she teaches on the Masters in Environmental Change and Management. She is also Professor of Practice at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. She is a member of the Club of Rome and currently serves on the World Health Organisation Council on the Economics of Health for All.  For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/rr03-erickson-farley-raworth-keen  To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EC11UQD9q3w  

In Part 4 of this Frankly mini-series, Nate concludes the deep dive into the nexus between “just stopping oil” and “just pumping oil” with 10 guideposts which might help us to navigate through the intersection of the Four Horsemen of the 2020s and the shrinking Web of Life….together known as The Great Simplification.  From decomplexifying at various scales to a change of consciousness arising from more humans focused on "Inner Tech", there are many ways we as individuals and as a part of the greater society can manage the push and pull of both environment and economic issues while remaining grounded in the reality of energy, technology, behavior, and the economy.   For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/41-just-stop-oil-part-4-the-intersection   To watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/_C8rR5OR74Y

On this episode, Nate is joined by Doomberg - the anonymous energy/finance analyst team (visually presenting as a talking chicken icon) who uses an energy lens to analyze global trends in the economy, with so far some remarkable accuracy. In this wide ranging discussion, Doomberg and Nate cover the interactions between geopolitics, debt, climate policy, and - of course - energy. How have the narratives created around different types of energy - from renewables to nuclear - affected current policy making around the world? Will the increasingly precarious state of the global debt and monetary system shift the geopolitical landscape? How have increasing global tensions combined with a rise in green energy policy affected nations’ desire for energy security - and what does it mean for future policy as we enter a period of decreasing energy availability? About Doomberg In May of 2021, Doomberg was started by a team of professionals experienced in heavy industry, private equity, and the hard sciences to highlight the fundamentals missing from many economic and policy decisions, and it quickly grew to be one of the most widely read finance newsletters on Substack. Doomberg covers topics from energy, finance, to the economy at large, in an attempt to improve society's thinking and clarity to complex problems. Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/pYkmJOhWtSU Show Notes & More Info https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/83-doomberg 

In Part 3 of this Frankly Series, Nate (just after watching the movie Oppenheimer!) breaks down the logic of how we COULD arrive at a post-growth future. Our global situation is complex and not static - IF we somehow are able to shrink the global economic output (which would imply significantly less oil use) we first have to navigate ‘the 4 Horsemen of the 2020s’. Nate outlines 10 possible avenues for how this could happen, not as a prescription but as a description of various possible scenarios. The implications of the complexity of our global systems means a path to a world without our current dependence on growth will not be an easy one. Yet understanding these hurdles between our current situation and an eventual post-growth future is essential to shifting the initial conditions of such a global transformation towards ‘better-than-the-default’ outcomes. How do impending and converging risks narrow our options for ways to move towards a different global system - and can we manage to protect the things that make life worth living?    Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/EhOhfRrvYI0 For Show Notes and More: For Show Notes and more: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/40-just-stop-oil-part-3-10-pathways-to-post-growth

On this episode, Nate is joined by climate scientist Kevin Anderson to discuss the possible paths of averting severe climate outcomes and how this is interconnected with equity. As nations plan their climate goals and coordinate with each other, it’s clear that extreme actions would be needed from everyone to meet the goal of keeping the global average temperature increase below 2ºC - if this is even possible. At the same time, there are wide disparities in the greenhouse gas emissions between the materially wealthiest and poorest within and across countries. How are past inequities already affecting people in presently climate impacted zones? How can concerned individuals begin incorporating changes and communicating with others in their own lives - and is it even worth it to do so? How can we attempt to balance the equity in standards of living and create rapid reductions in emissions, all while grappling with growing geopolitical tensions, declining energy availability, and the multitude of other converging risks in this impending poly-crisis. About Kevin Anderson: Kevin is professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester and visiting professor at the Universities of Uppsala (Sweden) and Bergen (Norway). Formerly he held the position of Zennström professor (in Uppsala) and was director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (UK). Kevin engages widely with governments, industry and civil society, and remains research active with publications in Climate policy, Nature and Science. He has a decade’s industrial experience in the petrochemical industry, is a chartered engineer and fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/82-kevin-anderson To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aQzdK1uGhWA