Planetary Phase Shift

Context

Nafeez Ahmed:

"We are in the midst of a planetary phase shift: a planetary-scale metamorphosis that will determine not just our geopolitical and economic future in the near term, but the very fate of the human species in the long term. Humanity finds herself on the cusp of the next great leap in our evolution potentially heralding the end of scarcity within our lifetimes. But if we fail to leap, we could abort this momentum and plunge into an abyss.

Clues to the dynamics of this planetary phase shift can be seen in the way change works at far smaller scales of physical, chemical, and biological systems. At these scales a “sharp transition” in the degree of organisation within the system can be triggered by rapidly shifting external pressures – such as when we apply heat to boil water, turning it into steam.

At these small scales, scientists measure the ‘phase’ of a system – its level of organisation – by examining relevant physical forces like temperature and magnetism. But on the planetary scale involving human civilisation and its relationship to the earth, understanding the ‘phase’ of the entire planetary system requires a much wider lens capable of making sense of the astonishing complexity of human and earth systems.

When we do this, we can see that the very same patterns of change we find among molecules and cells, are playing out across societies and civilisations through the evolutionary march of culture and technology."

(https://ageoftransformation.org/the-end-of-scarcity-from-polycrisis-to-planetary-phase-shift/)