JUST WONDERING

 

I hate to say it but we are looking at a worldwide societal collapse and we won't have to wait until the year 2525 either.

"What is societal collapse The Curmudgeon"?

Well I'm glad you asked that reader. Here's a Wikipedia definition of societal collapse that might help you understand:

Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse or systems collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of social complexity as an adaptive system, the downfall of government, and the rise of violence. Possible causes of a societal collapse include natural catastrophe, war, pestilence, famine, economic collapse, population decline or overshoot, mass migration, incompetent leaders, and sabotage by rival civilizations. A collapsed society may revert to a more primitive state, be absorbed into a stronger society, or completely disappear.

While not exhaustive that list does cover the major influences and catalysts that led to the decline and fall of most civilizations. The Wikipedia article is an interesting read though and has a nice historical snapshot of the many civilizations that the world has seen.

It's interesting to read that the reasons for the fall of civilizations include damage to the environment, depletion of resources, rising costs of living, wars and invasions, disease, decay of social cohesion, wealth inequality, gender and race inequality, concentration of power in the hands of elites (oligarchy), the long-term decline of cognitive abilities, loss of creativity and natural disasters.

I think that we can all recognise these triggers as becoming more pronounced in our time.

There's good and bad news in this though.

The good news is that complete extinction of our culture is not inevitable, and new societies that will arise from the ashes of the old one. Like a phoenix from the flame. Here's ... oh, that's right, I used the Sinead O'Connor clip in a previous post. 

The bad news is that the new societies will take some time to develop and we'll be long gone.

Natural disasters and climate change

Many civilizations declined through natural disasters like the massive droughts that decimated Africa and asia many thousands of years ago followed by flooding in East Asia as a result of seasonal disruption.
Earthquakes, sea level changes and volcanic eruptions had great effects on climate which in turn reduced food production and led to population decimation and relocation.

 Diseases

Climate change has had a link to the spread of infectious diseases like leprosy, tuberculosis, plague, smallpox, measles and a host of other pandemics. Because it forced population drift and movement, climate change was linked to mass migration and famine which helped spread disease. Living with livestock, having poor sanitation and contaminated water supplies along with no medical knowledge was a breeding ground for illnesses and caused deaths in the hundreds of millions.

.... that's enough - class dismissed but do your reading and, if you wish, report back to me.

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We're seeing most if not all of the triggers for past empire falls and societal collapse and they are happening much more quickly than the earlier ones.

Irreversible environmental damage, over-extraction and indiscriminate use of  resources, rising costs of living, wars and invasions, pandemics and the resurrection of old diseases, decay of social cohesion, wealth, gender, race and demographic inequality, the rise of the billionaire class and resultant concentration of power in the hands of elites and the oligarchy, the long-term decline of cognitive abilities and loss of creativity through overuse and misuse of social media, AI and the internet,  and natural disasters whether caused by climate change or not. We're on a hiding to nothing.

Do I sound pessimistic?

Well, I am even for a curmudgeon. The news from the north, or, from the news platforms I watch about USA, Europe and the rest of the world is doing nothing to assuage my fears. That big ball of noxious gas (orange) Trump and his, on the one hand sycophantic Republican politicians and on the other, his cynical and manipulative billionaire 'friends' and their weasley support crews are hell-bent on destroying democracy, accelerating the decline of the USA 'empire' and making life uncomfortable for all of us.

I watched this morning a great speech from good old, and unfortunately getting older and becoming more frail, Bernie Sanders (USA Senator).

See: 

Please watch this as I fear good old Bernie will soon be sidelined. Listen to his scary announcement that, in USA, 3 men (Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos) collectively, have more wealth than the bottom half of Americans (170 million people). That's not fair.

These unofficial and unelected supporters of Trump's administration, spearheaded by Musk are deliberately and systematically gutting American governmental agencies that pose a threat to their businesses and wealth and that provide social welfare support for the 170 million that they, bizarrely, see as a threat to themselves. Don't just take my word for it - check it out but you'll have to look beneath Trump's 'red herrings' like the Gaza real estate nonsense, the Panama Canal bravado, Mexico, China and Canada posturing, the name change of the Gulf of Mexico to The Gulf of America and the Greenland (did you know that some dickhead US senator has promoted a bill to change the name of Greenland to Red, White and Blueland?) silliness. These are all just distractions from what Trump and his cronies want to achieve and what Trump and his boss Putin are really after - expansion of Russia and the nobbling of NATO.

OK, OK, I hear you, that reader ... "But The Curmudgeon, what have these things got to do with us?"

Well reader - “You! hypocrite lecteur! —mon semblable,—mon frère” to quote T.S.Eliot who 'borrowed that from Baudelaire (sorry about that but it's been a busy day and I'm unwinding - or coming apart - with a glass of vodka and tonic) -  this USA debacle and its posturing against Europe, South America and  - well, the rest of the world really will cause a USA recession, a worldwide recession, trade wars, international conflicts and ... well, you know the rest. Check out the history of the 1920s and 1930s. Did I mention that we're on a hiding to nothing.

OK, let's tone it down a bit and localise things to little old New Zealand where ... holy shit! This National-led government, amongst all the other horrible things it's done is attacking the health sector and laying off people like they were add-on aunties at a family business WTF!

"Look, I mean" to quote Alf Garnett. We're witnessing and unfortunately living through it, a mini-version of Trump's America with a silly wealthy business man with delusions of grandeur, attaining a powerful position where he hopes that he can help himself, his family, his friends and the other 'top 2%' of wealthy people in this country by giving them tax breaks. To achieve this he has needed to reduce government spending on social welfare, health, education, arts and critical thinking programmes. He has also needed the support of others - the coalition who have their own agendas not unlike Trump's cronies. -- (maybe to be continued)

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As my many two readers know, The Old Girl and I are selling up and moving to Wellington. If this happens we will move to Wellington once we've sold and have money in the bank. As it's unlikely that we will immediately be able to find the apartment or townhouse we want to buy we will rent for a period until we do. The likely weekly rental is enough to bring tears to your eyes - between $700 and $1000. Fortunately we will be able to afford it. 

Today, while driving and listening to National Radio I heard a segment on the unaffordability of renting and buying in New Zealand. Now we know that this is nothing new but I wonder if our current National-led government members know it. Recently these stuffed shirts cancelled the previous government's housing initiatives by reducing or suspending the new build programme for accommodation for those in need. An interviewee spoke of how difficult, impossible really it was to afford a $700 a week rental for him and his family  while being on an unemployment benefit. Look it up - the figures don't gel. I get it. We are on the verge of social collapse here, not necessarily from an uncaring government but an unaware one. I don't blame the landlords. They buy properties at market rates that, in New Zealand are massively above those of similar countries but  - we are at the bottom of the world. They have to price their rental properties at a rate that reflects their borrowing costs, maintenance, tax liabilities and to allow a (reasonable) profit. still it's not working and something has to give.

In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find
In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lie
Everything you think, do and say
Is in the pill you took today
In the year 4545
You ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to chew
Nobody's gonna look at you
In the year 5555
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do
Some machine's doin' that for you
In the year 6565
You won't need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long glass tube
In the year 7510
If God's a coming, He oughta make it by then
Maybe He'll look around Himself and say
Guess it's time for the judgment day
In the year 8510
God is gonna shake His mighty head
He'll either say I'm pleased where man has been
Or tear it down, and start again
In the year 9595
I'm kinda wonderin' if man is gonna be alive
He's taken everything this old earth can give
And he ain't put back nothing
Now it's been ten thousand years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what, he never knew, now man's reign is through
But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight
So very far away, maybe it's only yesterday
In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find