The politics of profligacy

August 21, 2025

Humanity’s greed for material comfort seems unbounded, for the most part, by any sense of a need for boundaries. Our population grows ever larger, and those alive want a sense of comfort and provision that is as good as, or better than, that they grew up with. Understandable, at the individual scale, but unsustainable and a poisoned chalice for those who follow.

Julian Cribb paints a compelling picture of how humanity is hell-bent on self-destruction. Much attention has been given to the climate threat because this is both existential and imminent, but — as Cribb reminds us — we also face threats of famine, water scarcity, and resource depletion which carry terminal risks for many. And all this happens while we continue to deplete and degrade the environment on which all life depends.

With the global population that our planet now carries, and our fixation on growth, there will be no gentle resolution of this conundrum. We may have the technologies that we need for a sustainable future, but we lack the willingness to adopt them, or to accept the far-more-limited lifestyles that they demand. The politics of profligacy will prevail until the end.