The future of industrial civilisation

Since 2005 when I first discovered peak oil, a key question that has kept gnawing at me is why? Why have so few people heard of “peak oil?” Why do so many who have dismiss it out of hand or not understand it (or both)? Why isn’t the government doing anything in preparation? Why weren’t the media interested? Why is there so little risk mitigation? Thanks to Greer’s writings on magic in contemporary society I now understand that a rational response to peak oil is the least likely of all thanks to a concept labelled ‘political thaumaturgy.’

Now most people would scoff at the very suggestion that magic has much if any influence in our lives, which probably demonstrates just how effective it is in contemporary mass-produced popular culture. As Greer argues, popular culture“exists solely for the purpose of emptying your wallet and your brain, not necessarily in that order”. It works continues Greer “by inducing you to think less and react more. Thus, in the strictest sense of the word, [popular culture] makes you more stupid”. In other words, popular culture will be more hindrance than help in meeting the challenges before us.

We are currently witnessing an incredibly important period in history. With Europe’s situation going from bad to worse week by week, it becoming increasingly apparent that the United States’ so called recovery post the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) was little more than a statistically induced illusion founded on fake wealth, China slowing, and the climate becoming increasingly unstable (amongst other indicators), the window for pondering the decline of industrial civilisation appears to be closing, soon to be replaced by the practicalities of forging a living in a permanently contracting economy.

This situation is one that each and every one of us faces, whether weknow/admit to it or not.But we are not without options. It is just that the options we have, particularly from a popular culture perspective, are not very palatable or easy. As Greer states, we can either continue to share the feast resulting in the fall of industrial civilisation, or we can wake up and walk away. Now this is not of course an easy decision to make. But as Greer puts it the approach of collapsing now and avoiding the rush is one that gives the best chance of getting through the difficult years ahead with some degree of dignity and grace.

It is a great shame that the work of John Michael Greer is not more widely known outside of the peak oil blogosphere. His work is an exemplar of the type of thinking and practical action that will be required as the decline of industrial civilisation continues on its rickety way. While I expect that politicians, economists, the mainstream media, or the masses, at least not in a timely enough fashion to make any real difference, will never heed his message for those who do make the courageous decision to walk away, he is a source of hope and inspiration.