Bye-bye, Civilization. It’s Been Nice Knowing You.

We were almost there, briefly. We were tantalizingly close.

In the late 20th century, for a brief time, it seemed as if humanity was finally getting its act together. Yes, it seemed that way. Or at least… we were starting to get it together.

But by the turn of the millennium, and especially since 2010, things started going downhill fast. Most of the advances and social gains of the last century began slipping away or being ruthlessly attacked and destroyed.

Bye-bye, civilization. It was nice getting to know you — briefly.

Bye-bye. We’ll miss you.

Why is civilization receding around the world?

Of course, the big question is: why is this happening? When democracy was spreading, racism was declining, and many more people around the globe were being lifted out of dire poverty — what changed?

Why did humanity suddenly reverse course and start spiraling down again into fascism, hate, intolerance, and increasing violence?

I think the answer is pretty simple, though not very palatable: powerful factions within humanity didn’t want these major changes and improvements. Instead, they sought to re-assert their power, amplify peoples’ fear, racism, and anger — and thus ‘divide and conquer.’ These factions have increased their influence since the 90s, and their worldwide power has surged since 2010.

Who am I referring to? I see four regressive ‘reactionary’ groups in action, all around the world:

1. Committed racists and ethnic ‘haters’ felt they were losing ground and got tired of acting ‘politically correct’ — so their gloves came off, and they emerged from the shadows fighting mad.

2. Big-time capitalists and financiers pushed for ever-increasing ‘deregulation,’ which allowed them to run wild and funnel more and more of society’s wealth to themselves — resulting in the now-infamous ‘wealth gap’ and the rise of the billionaire class.

3. Reactionary, ruthless politicians like Putin and Netanyahu (and their fervent supporters) are constantly pushing military action and extreme violence to enforce their agendas — and in the process, they are wrecking any prospects for peaceful coexistence and hurting or displacing millions of people.

4. The fossil fuel industry combined forces with conservative and reactionary groups, especially in the U.S. — and mounted one of the most successful and destructive propaganda campaigns in human history: their long-term effort to undermine and debunk climate science and derail our efforts to combat global warming/climate change.

The problem for our nascent civilization was and IS that these four factions, operating in tandem, have thrown our world and our societies into turmoil. Any one of them is potent enough to destabilize our world, but when they’re all active simultaneously their effects are compounded and much more dangerous.

What makes a society ‘civilized’?

Before going further, I want to clarify what constitutes a ‘civilized’ society. (This is my definition, which differs from textbook definitions.) To me, a truly civilized society is based on compassion, equity, fairness, and equal opportunity; it tries hard to create social and political systems that really DO work for everyone. No one is left out, and all are included.

These criteria for true civilization do not depend on technological progress, scientific advances, or ever-increasing ‘consumerism.’ All these things may make life easier or safer, but they do not guarantee being ‘civilized.’ They can contribute to civilization, certainly, but don’t automatically make us civilized.

In fact, when carried to extremes — as we’ve done with our worship of technology and consumerism — they can easily undermine civilization and wreck our societies. This is especially true absent effective public education and ongoing emphasis on better interpersonal relations and communication.

So, what makes a society civilized? A truly civilized society, at its core, is an inclusive and caring place/nation that has the well-being and emotional health of its citizens at heart. As such, it actively supports and educates its people and encourages effective, open-minded interpersonal relating.

In essence, true civilization is based on ‘love in action.’

Plus, a truly civilized society creates economic and social systems that ensure a baseline level of economic security and safety for every citizen.

The global rebellion of the ‘social dinosaurs’

Yet, this is NOT where most of the world is today. As I said, we were on our way and making slow progress — but then the giant global ‘rebellion of the social dinosaurs’ ramped up, and our progress toward true civilization suddenly began collapsing.

The crucial fact to remember — and this is very hard to accept — is that most of these ‘reactionary’ groups and politicians aren’t interested at all in fairness, equality, or inclusiveness. As the recent furor and hatred directed at ‘DEI’ (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives clearly show, the reactionary elements of our society hate the very ideas of racial equity, diversity, and inclusion.

This means these reactive, backward human factions are deeply dedicated to the exact opposite of civilization. They want power for themselves only and seek to strip power away from various ‘inferior’ others.

And they don’t care if their efforts lead to the downfall or collapse of society — as long as they come out ‘on top.’

The long-term propaganda campaign that doomed humanity

As an example, let’s explore the massive, long-term campaign to undermine public acceptance of climate science and vilify the concept of ‘climate change.’ This well-documented propaganda campaign was conceived in the late 80s but accelerated in the mid-90s and beyond.

It was organized by a coalition of capitalists, oil companies, ‘free traders,’ conservatives, and anti-environmental activists, all of whom shared the goal of undermining the environmental movement, protecting the fossil fuel industry, and making sure the public did NOT accept or embrace proven climate science.

This one prolonged propaganda campaign, rightly understood, was SO effective that it ensured our utter failure to combat and reverse climate change — thus dooming our planet and the human race to out-of-control warming and climate disruptions. This massive propaganda ‘success’ has led, paradoxically, to the greatest possible failures for humanity: our continued mass dependence on fossil fuels and the resulting worldwide escalation of the climate crisis — plus the accelerating collapse of our societies and ‘civilization’ as climate disruptions intensify.

Consider: if all these factions had not combined forces to discredit climate science and totally politicize/demonize the concepts of global warming and climate change, we may have started actively dealing with the climate crisis back in the mid-90s — as almost all nations pledged to do, but didn’t — and we could have had a crucial 30-year head start on reversing climate change.

And that, in turn, means we would have had at least a chance of stabilizing the climate and not breaching vital climate ‘tipping points.’ But the rapid pace of development and ‘growth’ around the world over these 30 years — and with it, vast increases in fossil fuel burning — has now ensured that we won’t meet our climate goals and won’t be able to reverse or slow climate change.

We’re not even close.

True civilization was being birthed— but was stillborn

Next question: what does all this mean for our nascent civilization?

Broadly, it means that our developing ‘civilization’ was… stillborn. Our over-dependence on fossil fuels and the resulting climate disruptions, together, are wrecking our planet’s ecological systems, disrupting crops and supply chains, causing mass migrations and ever-increasing hysteria over immigration, and intensifying our anxiety and fear.

And guess what: rising anxiety and fear are perfect breeding grounds for fascism, intolerance, and intensifying ethnic hatred. And these, in turn, lead directly to the accelerating collapse of our societies and our nascent civilization.

That is, when we add in the dire effects of #1, above — rising racism and ethnic hatreds — #2, rising economic inequality and super-capitalism, and #3, intensifying nationalistic aggression and war — well, we’ve got a ‘perfect storm’ of antisocial, anti-civilized trends, attitudes, and actions.

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Plus, in the U.S. we still have to contend with Donald Trump, who embodies and amplifies ALL of the dangerous, negative trends mentioned above (except intentional warmongering). And many similar ‘tyrant wannabes’ are rising and waiting in the wings, all across the world.

So it’s safe to say, at least in the short term — meaning the next few decades — that the chances of true civilization emerging and gaining ground are slim to none.

Even worse, with accelerating climate disruptions in the picture — and intensifying — I’d say the realistic chance is zero. Zilch.

That’s exactly why I’m saying, with deep heartfelt pain: Bye-bye, civilization. It’s been nice getting to know you.

Bye-bye, civilization. We’ll miss you desperately — more than we could ever imagine.

I hope we meet again, someday.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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Photo credit: Marek Studzinski on Unsplash