The Collapse of Modernity | William Rees

The collapse of modern techno-industrial civilization is inevitable. William Rees, human ecologist and ecological economist, argues that humanity's nature evolved in simpler times and has left us wholly incapable of understanding the enormously complex and life-destroying global civilization we've created. The worldview of human exceptionalism, fueled by fossil energy and sustained by the myth of limitless growth and human ingenuity, is driving us deeper into ecological overshoot and leading humanity toward a painful contraction in both human population and consumption. Highlights include: Why human beings, who evolved in much simpler social environments, have become 'cognitively obsolete' and are maladapted to understand the enormous complexity and catastrophic ecological consequences of modern techno-industrial civilization; How fossil fuels and technology enabled humanity to escape the negative feedbacks of famine, disease, and predation and set the stage for the single most abnormal period in human history, characterized by explosive growth in population, consumption, and ecological impact; How human exceptionalism and the cultural myth of limitless human ingenuity sustain the belief that technology can substitute for nature and enable infinite growth on a finite planet; Why climate change is only one symptom of ecological overshoot, which encompasses resource depletion, biodiversity loss, pollution, and humanity’s growing demands on the biosphere, and why these increasing negative feedbacks will overwhelm modern techno-industrial civilization; Why renewable energy and technological fixes have failed to displace fossil fuels at the necessary scale, and why ecological overshoot can only be ameliorated through a large contraction in both population and consumption; How the small scale of human groups in the past allowed for the detection and suppression of antisocial or psychopathic tendencies, and how large-scale modern institutions reward psychopathic and exploitative behavior, concentrate power, and entrap the large majority of us in these destructive systems; Why well-meaning plans for an ecologically and socially just future suffer from the 'what/how conundrum' - with wonderful ideas of what humanity could conceivably do but with few details of exactly how societies can overcome the economic dependencies, institutional incentives, and cultural norms that perpetuate overshoot; Why cities are the human analog of animal feedlots and how re-localizing essential production and building smaller, ecologically grounded communities could help societies navigate contraction and reduce dependence on fragile global supply chains; Why the only path to overcoming ecological overshoot requires abandoning the entrenched growth-centered narrative of human exceptionalism and recognizing the need for substantial planned reductions in both material consumption and human population. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/pod... 0:00 Introduction 4:20 Human nature and overshoot 13:28 Human culture and overshoot 26:07 Psychopathic selection hypothesis 36:09 Climate change is one symptom of overshoot 50:32 Cities are human feedlots 58:18 Techno-optimist delusion 1:01:14 The what/how conundrum 1:12:30 Human maladaptation syndrome 1:20:25 We're snowflakes in an avalanche 1:35:26 Cultural denial of overshoot OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings. Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance. Subscribe to our newsletter here: https://www.populationbalance.org/sub... Support our work with a one-time or monthly donation: https://www.populationbalance.org/donate Learn more at https://www.populationbalance.org Copyright 2016-2026 Population Balance