I mildly prefer polycrisis because it’s less abstract. The metacrisis points toward a systems dynamic for which we have no adequate levers, whereas the polycrisis points toward the effects in the real world that we need to deal with.
I am assuming we live in a world that is going to be reshaped (or ended) by technology (probably AGI) within a few decades, and that if this fails to occur the inevitable result of the metacrisis is collapse.
I think the most impact I can have is to kick the can down the road far enough that the accelerationistas get their shot. I don’t pretend this is the world I would choose to be living in, or the horse I’d want to be betting on. It is simply my current understanding of reality.
Hence: polycrisis. Deal with the symptoms. Keep the patient alive.
It’s a good presentation, but it isn’t a map.
A literal map of the polycrisis[1] can show:
The various key facets (pollution, climate, biorisk, energy, ecology, resource constraints, globalization, economy, demography etc etc)
Relative degrees of fragility / timelines (e.g. climate change being one of the areas where we have the most slack)
Many of the significant orgs/projects working on these facets, with special emphasis placed on those that are aware of the wider polycrisis
Many of the significant communities
Many of the significant funders
In a nutshell
I mildly prefer polycrisis because it’s less abstract. The metacrisis points toward a systems dynamic for which we have no adequate levers, whereas the polycrisis points toward the effects in the real world that we need to deal with.
I am assuming we live in a world that is going to be reshaped (or ended) by technology (probably AGI) within a few decades, and that if this fails to occur the inevitable result of the metacrisis is collapse.
I think the most impact I can have is to kick the can down the road far enough that the accelerationistas get their shot. I don’t pretend this is the world I would choose to be living in, or the horse I’d want to be betting on. It is simply my current understanding of reality.
Hence: polycrisis. Deal with the symptoms. Keep the patient alive.