The social pathology of polycrisis
Abstract Non-technical summary The polycrisis, an inadvertent peril of our own making, poses an existential threat to the modern world. Given humanity's innate desire to live safely, and to prosper, what explains this self-inflicted danger? Root causes of the polycrisis are both material and id...
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Global Sustainability |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059479825000110/type/journal_article |
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| author | Stephen J. Purdey |
| author_facet | Stephen J. Purdey |
| author_sort | Stephen J. Purdey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract
Non-technical summary
The polycrisis, an inadvertent peril of our own making, poses an existential threat to the modern world. Given humanity's innate desire to live safely, and to prosper, what explains this self-inflicted danger? Root causes of the polycrisis are both material and ideational. This essay focuses on the latter, exploring the impact of an exaggerated sense of human exceptionalism which legitimizes profligate behavior and releases us from accountability to each other, to the planet, and to future generations.
Technical summary
The polycrisis presents an existential threat to modern civilization on Earth. Neither desirable nor purposeful, it is an inadvertent consequence of collective human agency, a dangerous phenomenon with the power to override prudent, morally sound behavior. Emerging from the totality of multiple global stresses interlinked by myriad causal pathways, the polycrisis is a coherent entity which can, and does, amplify and accelerate local crises (such as supply chain disruptions, political uprisings and war, or natural catastrophes) into a cascading storm of alarming scale and intensity. I argue that these material features of the polycrisis find their origin in and are authorized by an underlying ideational stratum – a belief system – which lends legitimacy and strong forward momentum to the creation of entangled component stresses. This stratum features an exaggerated sense of human exceptionalism, an anthropocentric zeitgeist, and a licentious conception of freedom, all of which have released us from accountability to each other, to ethical forbearance, to future generations, and to the planet.
Social media summary
Multiple entangled stresses threaten our world. This ‘polycrisis’ emerges from the pathology of human exceptionalism.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-53ff01daa0dc424fb77e5a1a9c5fae90 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2059-4798 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-53ff01daa0dc424fb77e5a1a9c5fae902025-08-20T02:10:02ZengCambridge University PressGlobal Sustainability2059-47982025-01-01810.1017/sus.2025.11The social pathology of polycrisisStephen J. Purdey0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6082-2431Independent/retired, Toronto, ON, CanadaAbstract Non-technical summary The polycrisis, an inadvertent peril of our own making, poses an existential threat to the modern world. Given humanity's innate desire to live safely, and to prosper, what explains this self-inflicted danger? Root causes of the polycrisis are both material and ideational. This essay focuses on the latter, exploring the impact of an exaggerated sense of human exceptionalism which legitimizes profligate behavior and releases us from accountability to each other, to the planet, and to future generations. Technical summary The polycrisis presents an existential threat to modern civilization on Earth. Neither desirable nor purposeful, it is an inadvertent consequence of collective human agency, a dangerous phenomenon with the power to override prudent, morally sound behavior. Emerging from the totality of multiple global stresses interlinked by myriad causal pathways, the polycrisis is a coherent entity which can, and does, amplify and accelerate local crises (such as supply chain disruptions, political uprisings and war, or natural catastrophes) into a cascading storm of alarming scale and intensity. I argue that these material features of the polycrisis find their origin in and are authorized by an underlying ideational stratum – a belief system – which lends legitimacy and strong forward momentum to the creation of entangled component stresses. This stratum features an exaggerated sense of human exceptionalism, an anthropocentric zeitgeist, and a licentious conception of freedom, all of which have released us from accountability to each other, to ethical forbearance, to future generations, and to the planet. Social media summary Multiple entangled stresses threaten our world. This ‘polycrisis’ emerges from the pathology of human exceptionalism. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059479825000110/type/journal_articlehuman behaviorglobal governancemetanarrativefreedomagency |
| spellingShingle | Stephen J. Purdey The social pathology of polycrisis Global Sustainability human behavior global governance metanarrative freedom agency |
| title | The social pathology of polycrisis |
| title_full | The social pathology of polycrisis |
| title_fullStr | The social pathology of polycrisis |
| title_full_unstemmed | The social pathology of polycrisis |
| title_short | The social pathology of polycrisis |
| title_sort | social pathology of polycrisis |
| topic | human behavior global governance metanarrative freedom agency |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059479825000110/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephenjpurdey thesocialpathologyofpolycrisis AT stephenjpurdey socialpathologyofpolycrisis |