Civilization is the root of Our Predicament

What does it mean to say “Civilization is the root of Our Predicament?” 

First let’s define the terms so we’re on the same page. When I use the words, “civilization”, “root”, and “Our Predicament” I’m using them as broadly as possible. I’m trying to encompass many eons and a multitude of dynamics into a single phrase. Civilization is simply people living in cities. People congregating in large numbers, setting up hierarchies and importing resources. By root I simply mean not further reducible. All other problems stem from this original sin. Our Predicament means the set of interlocking problems without a solution. #OurPredicament is the plight of humans and the planet in our present day.

What is it about civilization that causes all these interlocking and ultimately unsolvable problems? Like all technologies the flaws of civilization are inherent in its design. For instance, all animals sustain themselves on the resources that exist locally in their environment. If and when those resources are depleted the species must move to where new resources can be found, or die, That is a natural limit which keeps each species’ population in check. When people civilize, or Gather in cities, they rapidly and permanently degrade the carrying capacity of the immediate area. This immediately creates a dynamic where resources must be extracted from the hinterlands and transported inward to the city, while the impacts of the city are distributed throughout those same Hinterlands. This dynamic continues as the city grows until its ability to extract resources regress and the city begins to shrink. This inherent instability in the design of civilization is one aspect of how it creates our predicament.

Another is the hierarchy civilization demands. We evolved within groups of 100 to 150 and aren't equipped to know more people than that. Large numbers of people demand representative decision making and direction on how to distribute excess resources. The inherent inability of man to prevent the negative consequences of privilege means that eventually selfish rulers will take power. The dynamics of power themselves set off a whole other set of sociological and environmental feedback loops. So the domination inherent in civilization of the few over the many is a requirement to the working of civilization. All of the abuses that engenders are rooted in its form.

These are just a couple examples of the features of civilization that are also its bugs. These flaws demand that the system be in a constant cycle of progress and regress. The depth of the fall usually corresponding to the height of the civilization's rise. Us moderns have now irreparably harmed the planet's ability to provide for us without the things that civilization provides. Eight billion people cannot live of the land. Even if the countryside weren't already denuded emptying the cities would quickly do the job. 

So what to do? We're caught in an inescapable trap. Although we cannot free ourselves, we can reduce our suffering by ceasing to struggle. We can give in to our fate and accept our predicament humbly. We can make low energy choices where possible and work to reduce the suffering of all beings.

It is a gift to be alive now. It is both a blessing and a curse to be the people who will see.