Abstract
Homo sapiens has evolved to reproduce exponentially, expand geographically, and consume all available resources. For most of humanity’s evolutionary history, such expansionist tendencies have been countered by negative feedback. However, the scientific revolution and the use of fossil fuels reduced many forms of negative feedback, enabling us to realize our full potential for exponential growth. This natural capacity is being reinforced by growth-oriented neoliberal economics—nurture complements nature. Problem: the human enterprise is a ‘dissipative structure’ and sub-system of the ecosphere—it can grow and maintain itself only by consuming and dissipating available energy and resources extracted from its host system, the ecosphere, and discharging waste back into its host. The population increase from one to eight billion, and >100-fold expansion of real GWP in just two centuries on a finite planet, has thus propelled modern techno-industrial society into a state of advanced overshoot. We are consuming and polluting the biophysical basis of our own existence. Climate change is the best-known symptom of overshoot, but mainstream ‘solutions’ will actually accelerate climate disruption and worsen overshoot. Humanity is exhibiting the characteristic dynamics of a one-off population boom–bust cycle. The global economy will inevitably contract and humanity will suffer a major population ‘correction’ in this century.
Keywords: overshoot; exceptionalism; human nature; cognitive obsolescence; exponential growth; ‘K’ strategist; over population; over consumption; climate change; energy transition; dissipative structure; civilizational collapse; population correction
When people point to the fallacy of human intelligence and exceptionalism, i mostly just roll my eyes. We seem little different to other animals or even plant species who reproduce and fill their niche and them maintian a steady population. Of course that’s how its supposed to work as you then get a stable environment that’s self correcting.
Then you have we humans who are unwilling to recgonise that and use “articifal” means to just keep growing all while gifting voluntarily, vast resources to a tiny sliver of the population and forcefully administering vast suffering on billions all while still having a finite planet.
Then there’s an entire hypocrisy around the bullshit of sancity of human, while we busily poison, kill, destroy millions every year anyway.
Great article. Well referenced. Worrisome too, should be read and discussed widely.
This is interesting. I don’t disagree with the sentiment at all, but it doesn’t read like a scientific paper and infact is rather emotional.
It’s published in a peer reviewed journal and the author is well-known academically https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hIdvAuUAAAAJ&hl=en
Yes, it’s a repost.
