Introduction: Social Hubris

Our society does not face one single problem; it faces many interconnected ones. The ecological effects of the rise of the world’s temperature are a threat to our way of life. Monocropping allows efficient industrial agricultural production, but it is ecologically unstable. Global interdependence provides us with many luxuries, yet it ties us all together for success or failure. Fossil fuels have underwritten the most complex society in human history, but they are a finite resource for whose end we have not planned. Stable systems are adaptable systems, and to adapt, new information must be incorporated. Just because our way of life is working today does not mean it is perfect. If we refuse to recognize the problems we face, new information is ignored and adaptation cannot take place. In ancient societies, the population and leadership must have been aware of their impending collapse at some point, but it was too late to reorganize and sustain their way of life. Ignoring weaknesses within our system guarantees our collapse. Hubris causes people to ignore evidence and prevents proactive adaptation.