Jean-Baptiste Fressoz

This Contemplation is the result of my beginning to put together a different one that’s focussing upon an academic article I’ve been reading (Collapse, Environment, and Society) but that got me thinking about the academic ‘debate’ regarding what ‘societal collapse’ is, how it may–or may not–unfold for our current experiment in large, complex societies, and how things are perceived in the moment by those experiencing societal change. The ‘debate’ (centred more-or-less on the question: Do societies actually ‘collapse’ or are they ‘merely’ shifting/transforming/adapting to changing conditions?) is rather ‘academic’ in that in the grand scheme of things it’s intellectually interesting but doesn’t have much to do with the on-the-ground, real-life experiences and concerns of most humans in a society–especially if they are experiencing some of the more ‘problematic’ consequences of collapse/transformation.

Pourquoi les 485 derniers millions d’années de la planète constituent une alerte climatique Une nouvelle étude révèle l'histoire des températures profondes de la Terre et montre à quel point le dioxyde de carbone a toujours contrôlé le climat.

A new study uncovers Earth’s deep temperature history and shows just how tightly carbon dioxide has always controlled the climate

2024 marks the first time since record keeping began that all of the 10 hottest years have fallen within the most recent decade.

La stratégie rhétorique adoptée par Georges-Louis Bouchez n’est pas une maladresse isolée, elle s’inscrit pleinement dans une méthode populiste qui dépasse largement les frontières belges. L’objectif profond de cette instrumentalisation populiste du droit international est double. D’une part, elle permet d’éviter une analyse rigoureuse des actes répréhensibles commis par Israël à Gaza, pourtant documentés en détail par Human Rights Watch et Amnesty International : exécutions extrajudiciaires, bombardements disproportionnés sur des populations civiles, restrictions délibérées d’accès aux soins médicaux. D’autre part, elle consolide un électorat sensible à une posture autoritaire simpliste, où la violence d’État est justifiée par opposition systématique au terrorisme.

Collapse isn’t loud. It’s not a Hollywood explosion, not a sudden black hole swallowing the United States overnight. There’s no singular moment when the world collectively gasps and realizes everything has come undone. Instead, collapse is a slow, grinding process — insidious, creeping, and patient.

My childhood was perpetually filled with creative people. My parents, both musicians, often hosted gatherings of artists, writers, and performers. At each event a recurring theme emerged: the struggle of the creative mind in a world that seemed increasingly indifferent, if not hostile, to their contributions. Each person laid out what became a very clear window into how our systems exploited and marginalized the most creatively intelligent.

January 2025 was the 18th month in a 19-month period with a global-average surface air temperature exceeding 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service…

Les riches continuent de s’enrichir. Cela ne fait aucun doute. Mais ce que l’on oublie souvent de dire, c’est comment ils y parviennent, non seulement par l’exploitation habituelle, mais aussi en conduisant activement le monde vers la catastrophe tout en se protégeant des retombées.

Gaslighting on a national scale is a political strategy. If you’ve been feeling despondent since the inauguration, congratulations — you’re paying attention. And if your brain feels like it’s constantly screaming into the void, you’re not alone. Millions of people are staring into the abyss of our political hellscape, watching in real-time as the pillars of a functioning society get bulldozed, torched, and sold for scrap.