Raphael Thys
Capitalist Collapse
Source: Kurgesagt’s new video ‘Is Civilization on the Brink of Collapse?’ (screenshot)
In a newly published video, the science YouTube channel ‘Kurzgesagt — In a Nutshell’, known for the high production value and adorable presentation of their videos, tackles the immensely complex topic of civilizational collapse, managing to put a positive spin on the death of ’99 percent of the human population.’
The titular question of the video, Is Civilization on the Brink of Collapse?, is never answered and barely mentioned at all. There is no discussion of the likelihood or timeframe of such a collapse, the underlying causes, or what can be done to prepare and survive. Instead, the Kurzgesagt team chooses to argue that, as long as humanity somehow survives and rebuilds its industrial capacities afterward, such a devastating collapse of society wouldn’t be so bad after all.
The video ignores some fundamental realities of climate change, the nature of our society, and the capitalist systems permeating it. Even more troubling, and the focus of this article, is the complete and utter lack of a critical evaluation of the way we have organized economic activity, and our relations to each other and the ecological systems sustaining us.
Comfort and abundance for some
The video begins with beautiful images of the Roman civilization, which is presented as a beacon of human progress and sophistication:
‘It was the pinnacle of human advancement. Its citizens enjoyed the benefits of central heating, concrete, double glazing, banking, international trade, and upward social mobility,’ the cheerful narrator explains.
This conveniently omits the true foundations of the Roman Empire: endless and relentless conquest, imperialism, and the subjugation of hundreds of ‘uncivilized’ peoples and millions of ‘barbarians.’ These were ultimately used for the only thing they were supposedly good for: slavery. Sometimes, they were allowed to die for the entertainment of the Roman people.
It seems appropriate for Kurzgesagt, a channel built on the philosophy of neoliberalism, the capitalist mantra of endless growth and progress, and the unwavering belief in technology as the savior of the human race, to conveniently overlook the cost of what they call ‘the pinnacle of human advancement.’ As we will see, this line of thought is evident throughout the video.
‘Today our cities stretch for thousands of square kilometers, we travel the skies, our communication is instant. Industrial agriculture with engineered high yield plants, efficient machinery, and high potency fertilizer feeds billions of people. Modern medicine gives us the longest lifespan we’ve ever had, while Industrial technology gives us an unprecedented level of comfort and abundance’, the narrator proudly announces, in a tirade on the glory of human progress and ingenuity.
Comfort and abundance? Here, I find a popular anarchist quote, of which I am quite fond, appropriate: ‘Do thine eyes not bleed at the sight of injustice?’
In the offices of the Kurzgesagt team, they quite clearly do not. Comfort and abundance for whom? What is really meant here is comfort and abundance for the Western world. And how was this wealth acquired? Well, pretty much in the same way as the Romans did. Conquest and colonialization, slavery, and the subjugation of ‘less-than-humans’, with its modern-day equivalent of forced-upon neoliberal policies, carried out through institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF and proliferating the constant exploitation of the Global South.
The abundance we enjoy comes at a price. And this price is not (yet) paid by us. Kurzgesagt acknowledges the heavy toll on the climate (the solution to which, as this video titled, We WILL Fix Climate Change shows, they see in the ‘right sort of capitalism,’ namely ‘green capitalism’, and unfounded hope in technological progress), but constantly neglects the historical and current suffering that the Global South has endured and continues to endure so that we can enjoy ‘the longest lifespans we’ve ever had.’ Again, modern medicine for whom? How many Africans received COVID-19 vaccinations while Europeans and Americans got their third or even fourth shot?
‘What if it ruined our chances of enjoying a flourishing future as a multiplanetary species?’
Instead of answering the question in the title or discussing the disastrous consequences of a true global-scale collapse, Kurzgesagt asks, ‘What if a collapse were so deeply destructive that we were unable to re-industrialize again? What if it ruined our chances of enjoying a flourishing future as a multi-planetary species?’
Yes, indeed, that is precisely what we should be concerned about. While, even now, hundreds of millions of children suffer from malnutrition and the imminent threat of death, and we cannot even imagine the anguish a global collapse would cause, our primary concern should most definitely be the continuation of the industrial complex and the impediment a global collapse would pose to the prospect of colonizing other planets and continuing our exploitation there.
Here, the continuation of human civilization and its future glory is presented as some kind of noble goal to strive for. While the possible death of a large majority of the population can be dealt with, as civilization would, at least according to Kurzgesagt, most likely survive such an event, what cannot, ever, be dealt with is the end of technological progress and capitalist growth. We will stop when we rule the universe.
The following few minutes of the video discuss the human race’s resilience in the face of all disasters, such as the bubonic plague or the American murder of more than 100,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While Kurzgesagt acknowledges that a global-scale collapse in today’s world, with its historically unprecedented potential for destruction and death, would be unlike any other event in human history, comparisons to ancient civilizations are still drawn, which are then used to support the claim that ‘we will recover no matter what.’
These claims are based on factors such as the vastly increased agricultural output of modern crops or the supposedly inevitable survival of key industrial technologies in the case of collapse. Kurzgesagt’s main concern then falls to the availability of easy-access fossil fuels in the post-collapse world. Not a single word is spared to the thought that, maybe, re-industrialization, ignoring for now even its feasibility, might not be a good idea. That, perhaps the very thing that would cause a civilizational collapse in the first place, namely the burning of fossil fuels and the exploitation of resources in the name of consumerism and growth, should not be resumed immediately following a civilizational collapse killing billions.
I might imagine, for it is not discussed in the video, that Kurzgesagt would respond to this criticism along the lines of green capitalism, a higher focus on the development of sustainable technologies (‘technological hopium’), and other neoliberal ideologies, rather than acknowledging the root cause of many of the problems we as a society face today— capitalism.
The line ‘…so, we should stop using easy-to-access coal, so it can serve as a civilization insurance in case something bad happens,’ I believe, does not even merit a response. It demonstrates an utter ignorance to the realities of the world we inhabit and its economic systems and, ultimately, can only be interpreted as a patronizing attempt at unfounded optimism and a defense of the status quo. There are no lessons to be learned here, no critical evaluations or even thoughts, no attempts at improvement, no examination of alternatives, no, let us just get right back to doing what we have done before.
Do not attempt change
The video concludes in a manner rather typical of Kurzgesagt videos: ‘The good news is that it is still early enough to prepare for and to mitigate these risks. We just need to actually do it.’
No, Kurzgesagt, it is not ‘still early enough.’ We have long passed that point. We will most definitely not be able to stop climate change, as you so pompously announced in a previous video (a thorough analysis of the many shortcomings of the arguments presented there can be found in this video by BadEmpanada). We will suffer and many of us will die. There is no technology that can save us, no carbon capturing scheme, no asteroid mining, and no fusion reactor. A disease cannot be cured by the disease. The only thing that could, as Kurzgesagt calls it, ‘mitigate the risks,’ would be an utterly new way of thinking about economics and the conduct of human relations and activities. A system not founded on the maxims of growth for growth’s sake, endless consumption, the satisfaction of non-existing needs, and the protection of private property and existing power relations.
If there is one thing I can sincerely hope for, one thing worth fighting for, it is that the post-collapse world will not look like the one before it. Perhaps, a more appropriate conclusion to Kurzgesagt’s video would have been: ‘This video was sponsored by neoliberal ideologists and institutions. Do nothing, do not attempt change, and, most importantly, trust the system. We care about you.’
You should have stuck to science videos. As a science teacher, I loved them.
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