What is the Metacrisis?
The term metacrisis refers not just to the interconnected web of multiple, overlapping global crises (often termed the polycrisis) but goes deeper, pointing to the underlying crisis within and between these external crises. It suggests that issues like climate change, ecological breakdown, economic inequality, political polarization, and widespread mental health struggles are symptoms of a more fundamental dysfunction—a “multi-faceted delusion” rooted in our persistent misunderstanding, misvaluing, and misappropriating of reality, stemming from the spiritual and material exhaustion of modernity [1].
Unlike polycrisis, which focuses on the complex interplay of external systems, or permacrisis, which describes a state of ongoing instability, metacrisis draws attention to the internal and relational dimensions:
- Meta as Within: The crisis exists within our ways of knowing, perceiving, and valuing – in our consciousness, psyche, and spirit.
- Meta as Between: It manifests in the dysfunctional relationships between humans, society, technology, and the living world.
- Meta as Beyond: It calls for transcending current frameworks and potentially moving beyond a purely crisis-oriented mentality itself.
It highlights fundamental flaws in:
- Our relationship with the planet: Treating the Earth as a resource to be extracted rather than a living system we are part of.
- Our relationship with each other: Systems that foster competition, separation, and inequality over collaboration, connection, and equity.
- Our ways of knowing and making sense (Epistemology): Fragmented, reductionist thinking, subject-object dualism that separates us from the world, and an inability to perceive the deeper patterns connecting crises.
- Our core values, narratives, and sense of the sacred (Axiology & Spirituality): Stories and assumptions prioritizing short-term gain, infinite growth, and individualism over long-term well-being, balance, collective flourishing, and intrinsic value.
Key Characteristics
- Interconnectedness: Crises feed into and exacerbate one another (e.g., climate change impacts food security, driving migration and political instability).
- Systemic Nature: Problems are rooted in the structures and paradigms of our current systems, not just isolated events or bad actors.
- Complexity & Non-linearity: Cause and effect are often difficult to trace, and small changes can have disproportionately large impacts (tipping points).
- Existential Risk: The combined effect poses fundamental threats to human civilization and planetary health.
- Crisis of Sensemaking & Intelligibility: Our traditional ways of understanding are inadequate, and the causal links between crises become increasingly opaque.
- Underlying Delusion: A persistent misreading of reality at individual and collective levels [1].
Addressing the Metacrisis: A Relational and Internal Shift
Effectively responding to the metacrisis requires more than addressing individual symptoms or optimizing external systems. It demands a fundamental shift from a worldview of separation to one of relationship and interconnectedness, tackling the issues at their root – within our ways of thinking, being, and relating. This involves:
- Deep Systems Thinking: Understanding the whole system, including the interplay between external structures (Systems), internal landscapes (Souls), and cultural contexts (Society).
- Transformative Education & Inner Work: Cultivating new ways of perceiving, thinking, and being; addressing our own complicity in the “delusion.”
- Regenerative Practices: Designing systems that restore and enhance ecological and social health, moving beyond mere sustainability.
- Knowledge Commons & Collective Intelligence: Developing shared ways to understand complex issues and coordinate action, leveraging tools like Discourse Graphs and Knowledge Graphs.
- Open Protocols & Decentralization: Building resilient, adaptable infrastructures that distribute power and foster collaboration.
- Cosmo-localism: Balancing global knowledge sharing with place-based, bioregionally-attuned solutions.
- Semantic Density: Creating richer, more context-aware knowledge systems capable of handling complexity.
- New Economic & Governance Models: Shifting from extractive models to ones based on circulation, regeneration, well-being, and distributed wisdom, potentially informed by concepts like Percolation Finance.
- Spiritual & Creative Innovation: Exploring new narratives, artistic expressions, and contemplative practices that foster a deeper connection to reality and meaning.
Ultimately, navigating the metacrisis is not just about technological or policy fixes; it’s about a metanoia – a profound transformation in consciousness and culture [1]. It requires recognizing our deep interdependence, healing the perceived split between observer and observed, and cultivating the wisdom to act from a place of wholeness. The explorations on this site aim to contribute to developing the conceptual tools and practical approaches needed for this profound transition.
References
- Rowson, J. (2023, September 6). Prefixing the World. Perspectiva. https://perspecteeva.substack.com/p/prefixing-the-world