Author: jembendell

I'm a British national living in Indonesia. I am known for my work on societal collapse risk and response. That includes the Deep Adaptation paper and Breaking Together book. I cofounded Scholars’ Warning to help academics communicate about a post-Sustainability agenda for reducing harm in the face of catastrophic ecological change. I cofounded Bekandze Farm School to enable smallholders to switch to organic and resilient farming methods. Last year I quit my full Professorship to focus on deep adaptation to societal disruption and collapse.

Subcultures of collapse – will there be a convergence?

jembendell

A couple of years ago, Richard Hames interviewed me for Novara Media on the topic of whether we might see a solidarity-based politics of collapse. That’s what I encouraged in Breaking Together, by presenting my particular philosophy for these times. Richard is unusual amongst journalists on the left of politics for taking societal collapse risk and readiness seriously. He writes a blog on a topic he calls ‘critical collapsology’. His latest piece explores seven subcultures on collapse and suggests there could be a convergence over time. That hypothesis raises some interesting questions, and so I’m sharing about it here, in advance of a webinar in a couple of months (part of a new ‘Metacrisis Meetings’ initiative).

Continue reading “Subcultures of collapse – will there be a convergence?” →

Why Isn’t Organic the Norm in Bali?

jembendell

The Ubud Food Festival concluded yesterday here in Bali, Indonesia. I spoke at an event on how to work better with nature to achieve greater food security. I was invited due to my co-founding of an organic farm school, and was pleased to attend as we encourage collaboration amongst restaurants to scale up organic farming. Our crowdfund to help with that is still a few thousand short of the necessary target. In preparation for the event, I drafted some notes on what I’d say. They follow below. If you can support us, please take a moment to contribute. Thx, Jem

—

It’s a pleasure to be here with you in Ubud — a town that’s become an international symbol of nature-based spirituality, conscious living, and the pursuit of wellness. 

Let me start with a question: How many of you would prefer to eat organic food, that’s food grown without any chemicals? And now — how many of you know that you always eat organic food here in Bali?

Continue reading “Why Isn’t Organic the Norm in Bali?” →

The 5Rs of Deep Adaptation

jembendell2 Comments

The 5Rs of Deep Adaptation is a framework that I developed to guide the reflections and conversations of individuals, organisations and communities when they aim to reduce suffering as they face, or experience, societal collapse. I developed it after I concluded that we were not talking about our personal concerns and conclusions about collapse because we did not know how to talk about it. That meant conversations were often abruptly ended with phrases like “we can’t conclude that or we will have nothing to work towards.” I thought that when our conversations stopped like that, we were losing the time and opportunity to reduce suffering and save more of society and the natural world. 

Over the years, the framework has helped many of us to talk collapse. Some or all of the 5R framework has been used in many communities around the world, from environmental initiatives to psychotherapy groups, from faith-based groups to activist movements, and from educational institutions to those analysing business futures. There are even academic papers that reflect on the use of the framework in different settings [1]. So in this article I will summarise the framework and then invite the creatives amongst you to share your depictions of the framework graphically. 

Continue reading “The 5Rs of Deep Adaptation” →

The Magic of the Metacrisis

jembendell

The following is a talk I gave to open the 2nd Alumni Gathering for the course ‘Leading Through Collapse.’ After 7 years we ended teaching the course, but invited the 300+ alumni to gather. The talk is available as a video, and transcript. I touch on some issues about how to remain outward in our focus, and the importance of thinking about what terms might help engage people in the transformative opportunities of accepting our predicament. Thx for watching or reading! Jem

Subscribe / Support / Study / Essays

May 9th 2025, from Indonesia

Collapse is undeniably painful, especially for those directly affected, and it’s difficult to witness when it unfolds. However, within this process, there are spaces of possibility that arise when we stop denying the reality of our situation. A collapse of systems, while disorienting, also makes room for transformation.

In our relative privilege, many of us have been shy to speak about any of these upsides to what is otherwise a tragic situation. But I have come to realise that there could be a benefit for others, not just ourselves, if we are more open about those upsides. Because the way we are transformed can make us more open to others, and help people to recognise that there can be positive ways to live in this era of collapse.

Continue reading “The Magic of the Metacrisis” →

Science has not proven there is no free will – almost the contrary

jembendell

This essay is the first in a series on aspects of free will and consciousness, and the implications for how we live in a metacrisis that, understandably, challenges our assumptions, beliefs and emotions. In this essay, I show how the increasingly popularised view that science has disproved relative free will is actually neither true nor scientific. I then explore other forms of knowledge on the matter. Thanks, Jem (PS: this is not written by AI ;-).

Science has not proven there is no free will – almost the contrary. 

In the last few years, you might have casually seen a few science magazines, or heard the commentary of a YouTuber or Tiktoker, and assumed that many people now think that science has proven there is no free will. If you have more than a passing interest, you might have noticed new books, from major publishers, which claim the matter is concluded – there is no free will and we can be grateful for it. A widely-quoted author on the topic, Robert Sapolsky states, “we are nothing more or less than cumulative biological and environmental luck, over which we had no control.”[1] Possible reasons and implications of an increase in the volume of arguments against free will is something I’ll explore in the second essay in this series on free will, consciousness and philosophy in an era of ‘metacrisis’ and societal collapse. In my book Breaking Together, I advance a freedom-based response to the predicament of humanity as an alternative to the various strands of either panicked authoritarianism or numbed disengagement. Therefore, the matter of whether freedom exists at all is rather important. In the book I included a brief discussion of the nature and existence of free will [2]. That was before the uptick in content claiming that our thoughts, feelings and actions were predetermined since the moment of the big bang (which is not a flippant summary of ‘determinism’). In response, with a series of essays, I will go deeper into the sciences, philosophy and social sciences on the matter. That is because this is not a mere intellectual and unending discussion; rather, it has very real ramifications for whether powerful people will accelerate the damage to humanity and the environment – and how we might organise ourselves for better outcomes.

Continue reading “Science has not proven there is no free will – almost the contrary” →

Our Humanity Dictates that the Collapse of Other Societies Matters to Us – including Palestine

jembendell1 Comment

Update on July 31st 2025:

After publication of this essay, there were a couple of months of what I considered unsatisfactory responses from various persons in senior volunteer roles in the DA Forum, who complained about my public criticism. However, by July, there was a widening of focus to include addressing matters of online group moderator capacity, diversity and accountability. Conversations are ongoing to improve systems. In addition, the original post that was blocked by moderators of the DA FB group has subsequently been accepted here.

It is painful to think that many of the children pictured above are now starving to death, and the world has watched, without a way to intervene until too late for so many. 

For over a year some people have been saying “one day everyone will have always been against this”. They recognised that many people only move with the herd, as defined by legacy media and cultural bias, and such complacency provides abusers with the time to do great harm. In a metacrisis with societal disruption and collapse, we would benefit from more people with greater ‘critical wisdom’ as I explain in in Chapter 8 of Breaking Together. We can also ask people to learn from their mistaken compliance and complacency, to avoid repeating it.

—

Many of us are lucky that societal collapse is still only a concept. It can be our way of understanding the increasing difficulties we experience, or the increasing damage to the natural world, or can describe a future breakdown of basic services in our societies. However, for some people the collapse of basic systems for living has been happening for a long time. Moreover, some people are experiencing the daily risk of being killed, the pain of hunger, grieving loved ones, and coping with trauma from regular bombing and displacement. A military-induced collapse of society is one that could be stopped, unlike the wider collapse that unfolds due to environmental and other factors. Therefore any such volitional collapse is something we could try to prevent, or reverse. It is something that calls for our attention and action. That is especially so if our taxes are funding part of it or our financial savings are benefiting from it. 

What I have just written seems self-evident. It should not need explaining. Therefore, it is heartbreaking that a few people who made the reduction of harm from societal collapse a major theme in their lives have been blocking people with a similar perspective from discussing how we might help people in need, with no transparency about that censorship, which means we develop a mistaken impression of the response of our fellow man. I am writing about it here because I think that with your help this situation can change, and with it, both systems and cultural dynamics will improve in the Deep Adaptation communities and movement. 

Continue reading “Our Humanity Dictates that the Collapse of Other Societies Matters to Us – including Palestine” →

What did you do in the genocide Daddy?

jembendell2 Comments
Jewish voice for peace, April 15th

Why should we talk about Gaza and genocide on Earth Day? Partly because we should be talking about it everyday. Partly because the same mix of forces that are destroying the planet are destroying life and land in Gaza. Partly because the mainstream environmental sector won’t be talking about it, as they lie that all we need is more technology, hope and charismatic leadership to save the world. My friend and colleague in the field of collapse readiness, Matthew Slater has marched with the Palestinian flag nearly everyday for the last 18 months. We discussed what he has learned and what more can be done, which resulted in the following guest essay. Please read and then share with individuals by email, not on social media, where such content is likely buried by algorithms.

Thx, Jem

What did you do in the genocide, Daddy?

by Matthew Slater [listen to an audio of this essay]

I find it difficult talking about Palestine.

What is happening is so much more than a regional conflict or an antiterrorist operation. So much more even, than the alleged genocide that is picking up pace. Before I put my case, it will help some readers who rely on mainstream media if I lay out some facts. I will limit myself to 10!

Continue reading “What did you do in the genocide Daddy?” →

Is Trump preparing for global collapse? (even if he doesn’t realise it)

jembendell1 Comment

CONFIDENTIAL MEMO
From: Strategic Futures Group
To: National Policy Council
Subject: Strategic Ambiguity in Collapse-Contingency Policy Implementation
Date: April 1st, 2025

Summary:
This memo outlines the rationale for maintaining strict narrative control over the United States’ long-range policy measures that align with systemic collapse-preparedness. The intention is not to deny the biophysical limits or geopolitical volatility threatening global stability, but to emphasize the existential need for public and international secrecy regarding the real purpose behind current U.S. policy directions.

Background:
The global economic system is exhibiting clear signs of overshoot: accelerating climate disruption, energy and mineral scarcity, fragile supply chains, sovereign debt stress, and demographic imbalance. These align with the framework of systemic decline outlined in analyses such as Breaking Together and internal scenario planning (e.g., NSC Deep Shock, DHS Cascadia). While the public narrative continues to project resilience and normalcy, the policy portfolio increasingly reflects quiet adaptation to the prospect of multipolar collapse and biospheric contraction.

Continue reading “Is Trump preparing for global collapse? (even if he doesn’t realise it)” →

How People Get Ready – building the commons in working-class communities is key to collapse preparation.

jembendell2 Comments

The one talk that I’m scheduled to give in the UK this year is at the Festival of Commoning in Stroud. My reason for that is my support of what Michel Bauwens describes as cosmolocalism [0] in the face of collapse, and what I term the ‘Great Reclamation’ of our power. It is best explained and illustrated by one of the organisers of the Festival, Dave Darby, in a guest article…

“All civilisations collapse in the end. The Roman Empire is long gone, along with the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Sumerians. Will the global civilisation of corporate capitalism buck the trend? Of course not, but how long does it have left? In such a complex system, it is impossible to predict when there will be a sudden shift, but there is good evidence that the process of breakdown has already begun. Damage to soils, water tables, forests, the oceans and climate is occurring alongside economic and political upheaval. No longer is this a theoretical matter about the distant future, but something we should be preparing for today. But how? 

Continue reading “How People Get Ready – building the commons in working-class communities is key to collapse preparation.” →

Gatecrashing Quantum Physics

jembendell1 Comment

When ChatGPT first launched there was a panic in some parts of academia about how it could be used to write essays, and academic papers, and therefore con the processes of assessment. At the time I proposed some ways of addressing that, by inviting more attention to personal experiences in the process of sensemaking and evaluation [0]. As AI has improved, I became aware it could break down the barriers of intellectual disciplines to newcomers. In addition, it could help bridge and even integrate different schools of thought, which are often separated by their respective jargons. So today I played with it on a topic I had a casual interest in over 20 years ago – quantum physics. Back then I read about the ‘double slits’ experiment, where photons of light are directed at a barrier with two slits with a detector screen behind. Instead of two bands of light, an interference pattern appears on the screen, as if the photons had travelled together as a wave. However, when observed midway by a detector, those photons cumulatively create two bands of light, not an interference pattern. It was theorised as demonstrating quantum superposition and the observer effect in collapsing possibilities into physical reality. At the time I thought that superposition could be temporal not just spatial, but did not find anyone writing about that. Perhaps my hunch was because I’d recently read Hagen’s ‘Buddhism Plain and Simple’ [1], and was reflecting on how a fundamental unity of existence must involve time as well as space. But I had just started working at the UN and wasn’t going to deviate from my vocation on the environment, so dropped my interest. Last week I was reminded of the topic when I read there are new explanations about how time does not operate in a unidirectional past-present-future manner at the quantum scale [2]. I don’t know any practising theoretical physicists at the moment, so an AI chatbot helped me have a bit of fun in revisiting my idea about the temporal superposition of photons. The full chat follows below [3]. It was interesting how I needed to accept some of the suggestions but not others in order to progress the initial idea. It was also a salutary reminder that, after I concluded the chat, I used ‘old fashioned’ web search and found a discussion of temporal superposition theory last year [4], with similarities that had been overlooked by the AI. That is a reminder of the need for discernment during an AI chat and cross-referencing with other information. Ultimately, there is a need for experts in the field to check whether there are any major oversights or misunderstandings. Therefore, a word of warning: I am not a physicist, so take these ideas with a bucket of salt. I’ll leave the comments open, in case there’s a quantum physicist seeing this post. If you aren’t bothered with this topic, skip it, as more normal stuff comes from me soon. In any case, you could take this as an inspiration to scratch your own intellectual itch, gatecrash a discipline, and autodidact your way into new areas of knowledge!

Continue reading “Gatecrashing Quantum Physics” →