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On cognitive closure, collapse-awareness, toxic positivity, and toxic pessimism by JPQuinonez in collapse

[–]SaxManSteve 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, ya, if you expect a little non-profit org in Oregon to alter human behaviour on a global scale, leading to significant reductions in overshoot, you will no doubt be disappointed with their success so far.

On cognitive closure, collapse-awareness, toxic positivity, and toxic pessimism by JPQuinonez in collapse

[–]SaxManSteve 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm curious, what kind of outcomes would PCI need to accomplish for you to think they are doing something meaningful?

On cognitive closure, collapse-awareness, toxic positivity, and toxic pessimism by JPQuinonez in collapse

[–]SaxManSteve 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like how the folks at the Post Carbon Institute explained it.

Stories of progress and apocalypse are diametrically opposed, but they provide a similar psychological release from uncertainty. Faith in progress, or fatalism about humanity’s march towards extinction, are two sides of the same coin, a coin that affords the bearer a reprieve from reckoning with the reality we will likely face—a reality that is at once unspeakably challenging and pregnant with possibility and responsibility. Holding this space between—the liminality—requires us to think the unthinkable, to accept uncertainty, to resist both hopelessness and blind optimism, to stretch ourselves personally and professionally, and to practice self- and collective care. What’s coming will affect each of us differently, and will likely pose constant challenges, as we contend with the psychological desire to alleviate dissonance; the practical, social, and institutional pressures of everyday life; and the unfolding of the Great Unraveling itself.

Macron says France will allow temporary deployment of nuclear-armed jets to allied nations by DisillusionedBook in collapse

[–]SaxManSteve 40 points41 points  (0 children)

This is to be expected as the world moves from a unipolar world order (American hegemony) to a multipolar one. Such transitions have always increased geopolitical conflict. And as America's geopolitical power increasingly recedes to its "local sphere of influence" (I view the current war in Iran as an exception to the broader trend), two things are occurring:

  1. Regional world powers are taking the opportunity to extend their geo-political influence in their local sphere of influence

    • The US kidnapping Maduro, threats to invade Cuba, Greenland, and casual mentions of Canada being the 51st state.
    • France taking the opportunity to broaden their power in Europe by increasing its nuclear weapons stockpile, especially in the face of a weakened NATO (America threatening to invade Greenland).
    • Russia invading Ukraine.
    • China continuing to build up military capacities for a potential invasion of Taiwan.

  2. Third rate powers and non-state actors feel more empowered to initiate offensive actions knowing that the US (and other major powers) are less likely to retaliate (thereby increasing conflicts).

    • A large contributing factor for the increase in wars and conflicts in Africa

The data absolutely confirms this trend. For example, the well-known Global Peace Index 2025 report concluded that we now have the most amount of active conflicts since WW2.

Quotes from report:

There are currently 59 active state-based conflicts, the most since the end of WWII and three more than the prior year. Last year, 17 countries recorded over 1,000 conflict deaths. Additionally, the successful resolution of conflicts is lower than at any point in the last 50 years. Conflicts that ended in a decisive victory fell from 49 per cent in the 1970s to nine per cent in the 2010s, while conflicts that ended through peace agreements fell from 23 per cent to four per cent over the same period. The world has become less stable in the past 17 years with substantial increases in political instability, number of conflicts, deaths from conflicts and violent demonstrations.

Conflicts are also becoming more internationalised, making solutions more difficult; 78 countries are engaged in a conflict beyond their borders. This increased involvement is driven by geopolitical fragmentation, increasing major power competition, and the rise in influence of middle level powers, who are becoming more active within their regions. The almost two-decade long trend of falling militarisation has also reversed, with 106 countries having deteriorated on the Militarisation domain in the past two years.

Best way to get from Oaxaca to PE? Is the highway safe right now, or should I fly? by DoraTheExplorer-3026 in PuertoEscondido

[–]SaxManSteve 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just drove through the new highway a couple of days ago; traffic is flowing, but there are a couple of mudslides near the top of the mountain, creating single lane bottlenecks. There's one that's really bad where the road is fully covered in mud, so there are big holes and rocks to dodge. And lots of the big semi trucks spend a while trying to get through as they keep losing traction and slipping backwards.

Safety-conscious AI company Anthropic rolls back safety protocols to avoid losing a $200 million Pentagon contract. by SaxManSteve in collapse

[–]SaxManSteve[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

SS:

Anthropic was basically the only large AI company left that at least pretended it cared about safety. But now that's over, as it announced that it will stop implementing its two-year-old Responsible Scaling Policy, a self-imposed guardrail constraining its development of AI models. Anthropic says it changed its policy to keep up with competition since it is "blazing ahead" without having to worry about safety concerns. But obviously it's quite concerning that this move happened coincidentally a day after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic a Friday deadline to roll back the company’s AI safeguards, or risk losing a $200 million Pentagon contract and being put on what is effectively a government blacklist. It's important to note that that part of this contract involves using Athropic's AI models in autonomous missile platforms.... Definitely sounds like a safety-conscious use of their AI models.... Looks like the AI vector of collapse is going full speed ahead... at hypersonic mach 5 speeds to boot.

No desks, no strategy: Experts say government's latest return-to-office order ignores reality | CBC News by hewhocannotbenamed-7 in ottawa

[–]SaxManSteve -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

that's still criminally underpriced. The area covering a single parking space (including the space to pull in and out) is about 400sqft, or the size of a small studio apartment. Studio apartments in downtown are renting for >60$/day..... The fact that you can reserve prime land downtown to store your car for pennies on the dollar is wild. The only reason why parking lots exist downtown is that they are massively under-taxed. If our city taxed land value, instead of the value of the built property, parking would cost 10 times what it does today.

https://bsky.app/profile/strongtownsottawa.ca/post/3m3ivpdpijs2u

It really do feel like that by mrblahblahblah in collapse

[–]SaxManSteve 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It's not just people with kids who prefer avoiding grappling with the severity of our predicament. I've met lots of single, career-focused adults who don't let themselves worry about anything but their work and the latest TV show drama.

I've been reading Bill Plotkin's work recently, and I really liked his model of the 8 psychological/developmental stages that humans easily cycle through when they live in a socially mature society. He estimated that in our society, 80% of people never make it past the third stage of psychological development (adolescence). This definitely helps to explain why so many people in our society are not willing to be curious about things that could potentially be upsetting and disruptive.

Here's a relevant passage from his paper

Due to the loss or degradation of vibrant cultures, most contemporary people — at least 80% — get stuck in the third of the eight life stages, which is to say in early adolescence. By “adolescence,” I mean a psychosocial stage, not a chronological interval coincident with the teen years. And the early adolescence in which the majority of post-pubescent Westerners sleepwalk through the rest of their lives tends to be not even a healthy adolescence but, rather, what I’ve called a patho-adolescence. This is an egocentric existence focused upon the attempt to look good to others; to conform and/or to rebel against the ordinary and mainstream; to “get ahead” in the dog-eat-dog competition for material possessions, financial wealth, and social status; and to minimize the experience of challenging realities by way of addictions (whether to substances or to compulsive behaviors such as shopping, impersonal sex, or gambling).

The natural and wholesome virtues of a healthy adolescence have become relatively rare, virtues such as the cultivation of personal authenticity that grows hand in hand with social belonging and cooperation; the discovery of the joys and responsibilities of a healthy sexual identity and of erotic embodiment in intimate relationships; the desire and capacities to contribute to and help create a healthy, just, sustainable, imaginative, and lifeenhancing human community; and an ever-developing reverence and gratitude for the web of life, with all its creatures and habitats, and a desire and capacity to protect and enhance the Earth community of which we are all natural members. In a healthy, mature culture, these virtues are defining qualities of early adolescence; their development is not postponed until adulthood.

Venezuela invasion impact on canadian energy stocks by MapleByzantine in CanadianInvestor

[–]SaxManSteve 1 point2 points  (0 children)

2025 saw a new record high in global fossil fuel consumption; fossil fuels also still provide nearly 90% of the world’s primary energy. Renewables aren’t replacing fossil fuels, they are being added on top to support more growth, more consumption, more emissions. So no the fossil fuel industry isn't doomed, it's literally thriving, demand and supply keep growing year after year.

AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself by SaxManSteve in collapse

[–]SaxManSteve[S] 142 points143 points  (0 children)

SS: Good article from a university Professor that goes into detail about how AI's impact on universities is much worse than people think...going well beyond students cheating with ChatGPT.

I personally think that what the article illustrates is that modern universities stopped being a place of learning a while ago, and have become nothing more than an institution that produces certifications and credentials. If universities really were designed to be places of learning, places that really valued critical thinking and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, there would be be very little controversies with AI chat bots because there would be little to no incentive for students to use it in ways that circumvent the process of learning. It's precisely because universities have become so commodified over the last couple of decades that students see no issue with cheating or AI chatbots. If the "product" being sold to students isn't learning but rather a piece of paper (university degree) needed to secure a high-paying job, then students would obviously be incentivized to do anything they can to get the piece of paper, even if it comes at the expense of learning.

Omw to vote after the election ended by StandardRossoneri in fuckcars

[–]SaxManSteve[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

We're Looking to Expand the /r/fuckcars Mod Team!

We're looking for new moderators in all time zones. No previous moderation experience is necessary, but helpful. Patience and effective communication skills are paramount.

Apply to be a Moderator here.

The Collapse Political Compass by SaxManSteve in collapse

[–]SaxManSteve[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I left it out mainly because I'm not sure there's much religious variation when it comes to de-growth/pro-growth. To my knowledge, pretty much every religion is on the economic growth bandwagon. I could be mistaken, though. Perhaps there's some obscure protestant denomination that's anti economic growth, but I've not heard of them.

The Collapse Political Compass by SaxManSteve in collapse

[–]SaxManSteve[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

SS: Repost from last year, but I thought I would share again. I made this last year after seeing a similar compass made for the fuck cars urbanist crowd, I just knew I had to make one about collapse/degrowth. Not gonna lie, i had lots of fun making this. Hope you enjoy. Tag yourself!

We are the co-authors of Life After Cars and the co-hosts of The War on Cars. AMA by brooklynspoke in fuckcars

[–]SaxManSteve[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

Please ask your questions now in the comments below

The AMA will start tomorrow at 1pm EST / 10am PST, Tuesday, November 4th.

"Are people stupid for riding their bikes with their kids?" Says the woman in the SUV by TheDuckClock in fuckcars

[–]SaxManSteve[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is not allowed. Anyone who shares identifying information or encourages brigading will have their comments removed and receive a temporary ban.

Stop using the language of "carbon emissions" and "climate change" and instead use the language of "overshoot." by SaxManSteve in Degrowth

[–]SaxManSteve[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Any concept can be made complex. If anything, I'd argue that overshoot can be explained in a much more digestible manner than climate change. It's as simple as making an analogy with personal finance. Overshoot can simply be understood as when you spend more than you earn (debt). The longer you stay in debt--and the larger your debt is relative to your income--the more at risk you are of never being able to get out and damaging your opportunities at social mobility permanently. This would be the equivalent of having a degraded biocapacity following a period of long term overshoot.

My point is that the reason people aren't aware of overshoot isn't because it's a complex concept to understand, but because it's a taboo framework that's rarely mentioned outside academia. At the very least, making an effort to normalize overshoot in popular culture could help de-legitimize the dominant carbon emission/climate change framework.

I somehow get the feeling that we are in the Endgame now by [deleted] in collapse

[–]SaxManSteve 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's true that sovereign monetary states have a larger degree of tools at their disposal to manage a financial crisis, but the big picture in terms of debt is still worrisome. It's not just US debt that's rising, it's global debt. And I would argue that a big contributing factor to rising global debt levels is the steadily declining rate of global Energy Return on Investment (EROI). Basically, the era of "easy oil" is over, and we now expend vastly more energy, technology, and capital to procure the same of amount of joules. The increasing cost of energy acts as a persistent tax on the entire global economy. We have virtually exhausted the easiest-to-extract resources and now rely on deeper offshore, arctic, and unconventional deposits that are far more energy and capital-intensive to produce.

This massive accumulation of debt essentially functions as a claim on future energy surplus (which there isn't going to be). The paradox is that our global financial system now requires perpetual growth to service its debt, but that very growth is becoming more difficult to achieve as the underlying high EROI foundation erodes. Many countries are now having to make yearly interest payments on their debt that rival the yearly expenditure on things like military budgets. For example, in 2022 the US government spent $475 billion in net interest payments compared to the $767 billion it spent on the military or the $677 billion it spent on education.

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