deep adaptation – Page 9 – Prof Jem Bendell

Talking with relatives about societal collapse

November 1, 2023November 1, 2023 jembendell

I’d just spent the last few minutes demolishing the fanaticism of the belief that technology will fix all the problems in the world. As we were coming to the end of our conversation, Daniel Pinchbeck asked me what I could say that’s positive about my conclusion that we have entered an era of societal collapse. I was sitting in my father’s living room, having returned due to him passing away just a few days earlier. I suddenly realised how grateful I am for how my father and I became closer to each other in the last few years. Probably one reason is how I changed since I felt the grief of what is happening in the world, as well as the potential proximity of death for both myself and everyone I know. I hadn’t talked a lot with Dad about my findings on the environmental predicament or the implications for society. But it had come up, and he had been more attentive to the news on climate change as a result. Perhaps that helped him to be more open and appreciative himself. I didn’t ask. But something changed for us over the last few years. That feels like a very personal and unexpected benefit from anticipating societal collapse. It’s an example of what I call ‘breaking together’ not apart. We won’t all react that way, but it’s a real possibility for many of us. Talking about that seems far more true to me than the elaborate ideas some people have about the emergence of an ecological civilisation or a collective higher consciousness after a collapse. I’d happily swap such stories of brighter tomorrows for some extra kindness between more of us today. Especially as we see such appalling and unnecessary violence around the world right now.

My conversation with Daniel reminded me of what I wrote in the introduction of my book about my stumbling efforts at chatting about societal collapse risk, readiness and response with my parents. In case that is a challenge you are also grappling with, I felt like sharing some of that experience. Therefore, below is an excerpt from my book where I write about it, and then some simple advice on how to approach talking with relatives, and others, about this topic. My chat with Daniel is available here, and a slightly odd transcript (as it didn’t pick up on sarcasm) is here.

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Leading with the Heart as We Hospice Modernity

October 23, 2023October 24, 2023 jembendell

Guest article from Deep Adaptation facilitator Katie Carr…

As the systems of modernity collapse around us, what kind of leadership can guide us compassionately through this transition?

Let’s be very clear – modern industrial civilization is dying. Its fundamental pillars – hyper-individualism, the myth of progress, the religion of capitalism, disconnect between head and heart, consumption as a measure of success and happiness – have engineered this disaster. Our relentless destruction of the planet has led us to the brink of extinction. Interconnected systems we rely on for survival, like food production, economics, and law and order, are unraveling.

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Responding to the new wave of climate scepticism

October 10, 2023October 10, 2023 jembendell1 Comment

When my book Breaking Together came out in May, some of my climate activist friends were surprised that I gave significant attention to rebutting scepticism on the existence of manmade climate change. I also surprised some of my colleagues at COP27 a year ago, when I gave a short talk on the rise of a new form of scepticism. That new form is couched in the important desire to resist oppression from greedy, hypocritical and unaccountable elites. I think the surprise of some that we still need to respond to climate scepticism reflects the bubble that many people working on environmental issues exist within. That’s a bubble of Western middle classes who believe they are well-informed, ethical and have some agency, despite relying on the Guardian, BBC or CNN for much of their news. Outside that bubble, there has been a rise in the belief that authorities and media misrepresent science to protect and profit themselves, while controlling the general public. That was primarily because of the experience of the pronouncements and policies during the early years of the pandemic. When people who are understandably resistant to that Covid orthodoxy have discovered the way elites have been using concern about climate change to enrich themselves, such as through the carbon credits scam, many have become suspicious of the whole agenda on climate change. Those of us who know some of the science on climate, and pay attention to recent temperatures and impacts, can feel incredulous at such scepticism. My green colleagues ask me: “How can someone deny what’s changing right before their very eyes?”

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The benefits of collapse acceptance, part 2: the doomster way

October 7, 2023October 7, 2023 jembendell

“Around the world, people are dramatically changing their lives to prioritise creativity and social contribution. They are worrying less about their career, financial security, or the latest trends. They are helping those in need, growing food, making music, campaigning for change and exploring self and spirituality. Why is this shift occurring? Because they have rejected the dominant view of reality and no longer expect elites or officers of the establishment to solve the worsening problems in society. After decades of greed, hypocrisy, lies, corruption and stupid policies, they are no longer waiting for any elites to rescue anyone, let alone the planet. But they are no longer upset, numb or despairing. They are living life more fully, according to what they value. It is precisely because these people regard modern societies to be breaking down, that they are living more freely. They need neither an underground bunker nor a fairytale of a better tomorrow as they are living for love, truth and beauty today. Who are they? I call them doomsters. I am one of them. Perhaps you are too?”

That’s an excerpt from Chapter 12 of Breaking Together, which is now available as a free audio. In the chapter, I offer some examples of the many forms of ‘doomster’ life, around the world, what psychology tells us about this phenomenon, and the extent to which we might become a force for positive social change in an era of societal collapse. In the subsequent chapter I go on to explain why the officers and wannabes of the establishment now fear us enough to misrepresent, censor, and even criminalise us. That is probably because we doomsters are escaping so many of the lies and preoccupations of modern societies. This kind of freedom is something I explored in a discussion with former Occupy Wall Street activist Karen Perry, in our recorded conversation on the benefits of collapse acceptance.

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The reviews of Breaking Together are in

October 2, 2023 jembendell

JOIN US? We are accepting applications for our online course “leading through collapse” – deadline is in 2 weeks.

Breaking Together came out on May 9th 2023 (my Dad’s 77th birthday). When he first became bed bound, I lived with him for a couple of months at the end of 2022. After every cup of tea I delivered to his bedside, he would ask how the writing was going, and reminded me of the book deadline. That encouragement from him meant it felt very satisfying to read sections of the published paperback to him when he was at the Rowcroft Hospice in Torquay (listen here!).

I am pleased with how the book is impacting people who work on sustainability or social justice issues, either as professionals or activists, around the world. Multiple translations are underway. On the off chance you are in Bali on October 19th, please consider joining my Asia book launch at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. But in this post I want to share some of the book reviews, as it is fascinating to see which parts of the book resonate with whom. Below I list the reviews that I know of, before reflecting on issues arising from my writing that haven’t yet been discussed.

World Literature Today is a magazine devoted to what it says on the cover. So I was delighted to see it carry a review that focused on the main message of how to respond positively to climate-induced disruptions in our lives: “Finding Freedom amidst Climate Collapse: Jem Bendell’s Breaking Together by Simona Vaitkute.”

On the website of the community economics focused NGO Low Impact, Dr Patrick Smith focused on the challenge of marshalling evidence for an unfolding breakdown of modern societies and the plausibility of such a conclusion” “If our civilisation were collapsing, would we even know? Review of Jem Bendell’s ‘Breaking Together’. I was also happy that my first interview about the book was with the boss of Low Impact, and that my cat Buki showed up at the end. I could not have coped with the isolation involved in writing the book if it wasn’t for him. Sadly he disappeared from my life soon after, to the heartbreak of both myself and all his human and cat friends.

The organisation Shareable also focuses on relocalising economies and their review of my book honed in on the need for economic systems to enable such relocalisation: “A new compass for navigating past the collapse: A review of “Breaking Together”.

In the UK’s left wing newspaper, the Green Party Mayor of Glastonbury focused on the freedom-loving environmentalism called for in the book. She identified it as an antidote to the recent bifurcation of views into eco-authoritarian technocrats on the one hand and conspiracy theorists on the other: “It takes a village | Morning Star”. In the US, that theme of a freedom-loving environmentalism was focused on in a review by the author Aaron Vandiver, when he asked “can we reboot the environmental movement — so it protects freedom, too?”

On her Medium page, Renaae Churches focused on the part of the book where I critique some of the ideas in the ‘doomersphere’ where they consider collapse as being predetermined and therefore nothing to learn about or change on the way down: “Loving that part of nature we call human”.

The cultural commentator Daniel Pinchbeck produced a series of essays reflecting on aspects of the book. The first of these was Earth’s Breaking Point? In it he states “Jem Bendell’s new book, Breaking Together, argues that modern civilization has already started to collapse. I agree with him.” I will be participating in Daniel’s online course soon.

One review attempted to summarise the whole book, with regular cross referencing of other relevant writings. An impressive engagement and helpful summary for someone who doesn’t want to read the whole thing! “Joining Together as Imperial Modernity Breaks — Book Review and Essay with excerpts.”

As a cofounder of Extinction Rebellion, Gail Bradbrook invited fellow rebels to read the book and reassess what to do next. In “Why read Breaking Together by Jem Bendell?” she kindly wished me well in my new pursuits (more farming and music), as well as hoping that the misrepresentation of my work to attempt to cancel this topic of collapse would not repeat itself. My sense is it will! Perhaps not in the mainstream media, which still prefers to hide these issues rather than platform them. However, in recent years niche outlets like the Ecologist and Open Democracy sometimes appear to police the Western environmental movement into maintaining anti-radical attitudes. Therefore, I wouldn’t be surprised if something silly appears in publications like those. Which is not to say that there shouldn’t be critiques – there absolutely should! As I told Novara Media, I offer this book as a way to kickstart a conversation about what a postdoom politics might involve (you might call this a politics of transformative and deep adaptation). Key is that we debate and dialogue without misleading our readers with false statements about the scholarship, or the people involved, or the effects therefrom.

Looking at these reviews, I notice the following topics haven’t yet been discussed in depth in any review, so look forward to future reflections from readers:

The limitations upon institutionalised scientists for them to coherently and saliently analyse complex systems.
The extent to which the climate policy agenda should dramatically shift to prioritise the cloud seeding role of forests, the need for intervention in the Arctic to restore ice cover, and adaptation to severe damage to crops worldwide.
The extent to which established green NGOs have misled the environmental movement and wider public about the nature of the predicament, because they watered down conclusions from the science to maintain a reformist outlook (and if so what to do about that).
The nature of consciousness and why freedom of choice amongst sentient life is inherent and essential to nature (including the part we call human).
Whether we need a fundamental reboot of socialist critique and proposals for a new era of collapse.

Perhaps these topics, and more, will come up in the online courses I co-teach on Leading Through Collapse. The book is available in all formats and as a free epub from: BREAKING TOGETHER – a freedom-loving response to collapse – Prof Jem Bendell

If you think people should know about this book, please skip sharing it on social media, and instead send a link to a few individuals by direct message or email. The reasons to avoid anti-social media algorithms are described in Chapter 13 of the book.

Next week I return to the Benefits of Collapse Acceptance. If you can’t join my online courses, then perhaps we can meet next year?

Jem in Brisbane, March 2024

Jem in Oxford, Brussels, Geneva and Rome, April 2024

Jem in Mexico, October 2024

Jem in California, November 2024

Jem in Taiwan, November 2024

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Collapse is the word on the street (just not online)

September 14, 2023September 14, 2023 jembendell

Every 4 months or so, the Deep Adaptation Review is released as a free summary of recent and relevant information on collapse risk, readiness and response. 12,000 people receive it. Past issues can be accessed as well as the new September review. My editorial follows below.

Collapse is the word on the street (just not online)

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#ConspiracyPorn hits Hawaii and the world

August 21, 2023August 27, 2023 jembendell3 Comments

Look at those trees! Unburned! That proves weapons were used and it’s a conspiracy!

Oh, wait, that is a picture of a fire from a decade ago, before any ‘Directed Energy Weapons’ had been trialled. The unburnt trees are standing next to burned out houses in Valparaiso because that’s what happens with urban fires. Wooden houses catch fire easily from being hit by burning embers blown on the wind. But green leaves on living trees don’t catch fire so easily from those embers. Have you ever tried putting green leaves on a bonfire? It might get a bit smoky, but they don’t burn easily. In case you’re in any doubt, you could pick from a list of major fires in the 2010s, and search for images to discover how many of the trees ‘mysteriously escaped’ any of laser beams (which didn’t exist).

The reason a wildfire can burn many trees in a forest, not an urban area, is because the fire can pass through the canopy, so an actual flame passes from tree to tree. Crucial to such wildfires is the amount of dry matter on the forest floor, and the number of dead trees due to disease – as they can catch fire easily. Extremes of heat and cold, dry and wet, as well as the shrinking of forest area due to felling, are all known to increase the number of diseased trees, and therefore the likelihood of localised fires becoming massive wildfires. That is the best explanation for why, globally, forest fires have roughly doubled in the last 20 years. In case you didn’t know it yet, I am writing about these fire dynamics because of the tragic fires in Hawaii. In particular, there is strangely popular theory about the deadly fire in the town of Lahaina. The theory has meant that popular youtubers with massive audiences have chosen to ignore the reasons why forest fires became worse in recent years, and what we could be doing to try to reduce that in future. The conspiracy theory goes like this: the fires are started by Directed Energy Weapons (DEW), to create panic about climate change, and to force cities that resist adoption of ’15-minute smart city’ policies to curb private vehicle use. Some of the conspiracy theories also like to claim that the 15-minute smart cities agendas will curb personal movement rather than just cars (although there have been no such proposals or initiatives). The ‘evidence’ put forward for this view of the fires in Hawaii, includes: the fires only burned properties not trees, that the ashes look weird, boats were burned in the water, there are images of Direct Energy Weapons being used, and that Hawaii is hosting a 15-minute smart cities conference. Writing more than a week later, there are still many videos being widely shared on TikTok and other platforms that make some or all of these claims (see the ‘screen grab’ one of the most popular).

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Climate truth is a challenge to power – even that of senior experts

July 12, 2023August 13, 2023 jembendell2 Comments

After another week of frightening temperature anomalies around the world, I gave a talk to supporters of the MEER project, which is trialling various means of locally-led climate adaptation that involve reflecting the sun’s rays. The video and transcript follow below. References for all the factual statements made in my presentation can be found within Chapters 1 and 5 of Breaking Together, which is available in all formats and regions, including a free epub download. Free audios of those chapters are also available. In the talk I am critical of mainstream climatology, as well as BigTech censorship of science-based analyses of the climate crisis that lie outside their preferred view of a manageable problem with technological solutions. From the talk:

“The so-called ‘fact checking’ group ‘Climate Feedback’ didn’t even consider two top climatologists worthy of a reply when they complained to them about helping Facebook to shadow ban an article that concluded we are inevitably heading for over 2 degrees global warming that will likely set off feedback loops. My understanding is that Professor Will Steffen died without even the courtesy of a reply from Climate Feedback. Dr Wolfgang Knorr still awaits one. So, we need to reclaim environmentalism from elites and officers of the establishment. We must stop pretending we are on the same side and instead build alternatives from below.”

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Breaking Together for free – and my launch speech

July 10, 2023February 15, 2026 jembendell13 Comments

So that cost is not a barrier to people accessing the analysis in my book Breaking Together, today the ebook becomes free to download. The book is also available as paperback, hardback, kindle and audiobook. My speech at the launch of the book is now online (see the video below, along with a rough transcript). We will be discussing the themes in the book in London on July 20^th and Berlin on August 1st. Then I’ll disappear again to the organic farm school I am developing with fellow doomsters. If you, or someone you know, are feeling difficult emotions about this topic, or the recent climate news, then neither of you are alone. I recommend visiting deepadaptation.info and connecting with that community, or finding a relevant Deep Adaptation Guide. Please consider forwarding this information to anyone who might benefit from peer support on this topic. Thx, Jem

Glastonbury Town Hall, June 18th 2023.

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