The planet is on fire—literally, across continents—and yet the drilling continues, the deforestation accelerates, wars rage, and the wheels of death, the military-industrial complex, keep turning.

Year on year, the number of people dying from climate-change-related causes is increasing; and whilst there have been deaths in the West, the vast majority of victims are poor, black, and from the Global South. The ‘wrong people’ are dying.

Cake and eat it

For decades, climate scientists and environmental activists have been calling for policy changes and urgent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). But despite repeated warnings and sustained public protest throughout the world, the response from governments and corporations has been totally inadequate.

‘Net-Zero’ (GHG emissions) targets have been agreed by governments of 137 countries (plus some corporations); policies to transition away from fossil fuels have been designed and in some cases instigated. But the fossil fuel economy, materialistic lifestyles, and animal-based diets that are enflaming the crisis remain untouched. These governments, however, are neither autonomous nor principled; they are controlled, more or less, by money: by corporations and ‘the markets’, by people with vested interests—in the fossil fuel economy, the military-industrial complex, big tech, digital technology, and more.

And it is here, in The Shiny World of The Oligarchs, a parallel universe of insatiability and clawing luxury, that action and change are most fervently resisted. The greed of this small but incredibly powerful group of insulated men is limitless, their GHG emissions staggering, their complacency criminal.

In its groundbreaking report, ‘Carbon Inequality Kills,’ Oxfam states that “fifty of the world’s richest billionaires on average produce more carbon through their investments, private jets, and yachts in just over an hour and a half than the average person does in their entire lifetime…[and] they tend to favour investments in heavily polluting industries, like fossil fuels…If everyone’s emissions matched those of the richest 1 percent, the carbon budget [CO2 that can be added to the atmosphere without pushing temperatures above 1.5°C] would be used up in under five months.”

Global warming has already reached 1.5°C (above pre-industrial levels), and according to British global-systems researcher Tim Lenton of Exeter University, “we are rapidly approaching multiple Earth system tipping points that could transform our world with devastating consequences for people and nature.”

None of which matters to the industrial polluters; they are wedded to the fossil fuel economy and the military-industrial complex—poisons that are fuelling climate change, as well as war, of course, which is regarded as a business opportunity to the oligarchs. Peace is of no interest to such men, and without peace, GHG emissions will continue to increase, climate change will accelerate, and more and more people will die as a result.

Climate deaths

As temperatures rise and extreme weather conditions increase, every year more and more people are dying from climate-related causes.

The Lancet Countdown 2025 report, produced in conjunction with the World Health Organisation (WHO), makes clear that complacency and climate inaction “are resulting in millions of avoidable deaths every year.”

Their findings are stark: heat-related mortality has increased by 63% since the 1990s, to an annual average of 546,000 deaths in 2012–2021; exposure to wildfire smoke led to an estimated 154,000 deaths in 2024; and air pollution from fossil fuels and household sources was responsible for a combined 4.8 million deaths.

Shocking as the current figures are, the numbers of climate-related deaths are set to increase dramatically. A 2024 report from the World Economic Forum, using a methodology that includes floods, droughts, wildfires, and tropical storms, forecasts that by 2050—a mere 24 years away—”climate change could cause an additional 14.5 million deaths.” The true figure will likely be even higher.

Overwhelmingly, the victims are from the Global South—Africa, South Asia, and Latin America—regions that have contributed next to nothing to the crisis. They are poor, black/brown: men, women, and children who are regarded as dispensable by a disconnected global elite, concerned with nothing but itself and the perpetuation of its privilege.

This is environmental racism, and it applies throughout the world. It is one of the many consequences of extreme inequality—of income, wealth, influence, opportunity, and education. 

The fact that it is mostly poor, black, and brown people, living thousands of miles away from Silicon Valley or Wall Street, who are dying, is a major reason behind the complacency and inaction around the environmental catastrophe. But it is not the only reason—for even as the impact of climate change spreads to middle-class white people in Europe and America, governments are still refusing to take the radical action needed.

This damning failure highlights the need for not just fundamental systemic reform, but changes in values and attitudes—the fuel of behaviour. Both need to change in parallel—a symbiotic shift. At the heart of which must sit the realisation that humanity is one—and therefore anything that creates and maintains divisions should be rejected, and inclusive cooperative modes of living enabled. 

Like all crises facing humanity, the destruction of the natural world is a consequence of a divisive materialistic way of living—rooted in desire, pleasure, and selfishness. Only in such a shallow self-centred world could the shame of environmental racism and the blasphemy of oligarchy occur.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/08/14/environmental-racism-a-certain-way-of-living/

“The change we are planning will be the biggest change in our lifetimes to the way the country is run.” So said Andy Burnham on 29 June, a month before becoming the new UK Prime Minister.

His vision includes a more streamlined state with a clearer purpose. A new Prime Minister’s office based in Manchester – No.10 North – “will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK. It will coordinate all parts of government, at national and local level, to agree on a long-term economic strategy.”

“It [No.10 North] will be given a mission to strive for equivalent living conditions in all parts of Britain” — a principle borrowed from the German Basic Law, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.

“No.10 North will support the regions on three clear tasks: Reform of essential utilities; Re-industrialisation; And the regeneration of places.”

Burnham has pledged to deliver a 10-year plan to renew Britain and reform its troubled politics – a plan that includes ending rough sleeping, reforming education, and tackling social care.

This means breaking with the corrosive ideology of the past 40 years, a period in which Thatcherism, in varying degrees, has shaped, and poisoned, the socio-economic order; fuelling division, promoting greed, and fermenting resentment.

From Mayor to PM

Andy Burnham began his political career in 1994 as a researcher for the late Labour MP Tessa Jowell. He later became a special adviser (1998–2001) within Tony Blair’s government, a role he held until his election as an MP in 2001.

He speaks with sincerity and passion, and comes across as “normal”: someone you could have a coffee with – or a beer – and talk to about anything: rising prices, renting a flat, deciding on a career, music, or football.

From 2017 until becoming MP for Makerfield on 26 June, he was Mayor of Manchester (or “some town”, as Donald Trump ignorantly called it) – a decade in which he built a reputation for competence and empathy that set him apart from the Westminster establishment. After winning the by-election, he was swiftly elected leader of the Labour Party, ousting Sir Keir Starmer, and subsequently, on 20 July, Andy Burnham became Prime Minister.

Upon entering Downing Street, he appointed a cabinet with a record 12 women, and purged many of Starmer’s allies, including some of the most ardent supporters of Israel.

In the UK’s parliamentary system, voters choose a party, not a leader – so, despite far-right carping, there is no constitutional need for a new election.

The current electoral cycle runs until August 2029, giving Burnham and his team just three years to bring about meaningful change. However, he has the latitude to call an early election if he judges it beneficial. Assuming Labour were to win, an early election would free Burnham and his team from Starmer’s restrictive fiscal commitments, potentially creating opportunities for more radical policies.

Clear vision

Despite attempts by opposition parties and right-wing media to present Burnham as someone who “flip-flops,” his priorities have remained consistent for years.

In Head North, co-authored with Steve Rotheram – the Mayor of Liverpool City Region – he lays out a ten-point plan to “rewire Britain”: a written constitution, proportional representation (instead of first-past-the-post), full devolution to regions and nations, two equal education paths (academic and technical), a national social housing programme, a Hillsborough Law – since introduced – and a net-zero re-industrialisation of the North of England, embracing 21st-century industries like data centres, AI, and renewable energy.

He has repeatedly spoken about bringing utilities (water, energy, telecommunications, transport) – all sold off under Thatcher – back under public control. England is the only country with a fully privatised water system, and re-nationalisation has widespread public support – something Burnham has advocated for decades.

What is lacking to date in Burnham’s plans is a foreign policy agenda – one that includes closer ties with the EU (ideally with the aim of re-joining the customs union); a more compassionate immigration policy; a commitment to increase the overseas aid budget, cut under Keir Starmer’s premiership; and a clear, responsible environmental framework.

Beyond Cynicism and Division

Burnham is right to lay most, if not all, of the issues facing Britain at the feet of the ideological dogma of Neo-Liberalism, and its most fervent devotee, Margaret Thatcher (UK Prime Minister 1979–1990). Thatcher famously declared that “there is no such thing as society” – a statement that legitimised selfishness, fed individualism, and eroded community unity.

Since Thatcher – with the relative exception of Tony Blair’s New Labour government (1997–2007), when inequality slowed and investment in public services increased significantly – inequalities of all kinds have grown: income and wealth, education and opportunities, access to culture and employment, and regional disparities.

In relation to the most basic form of inequality – wealth and income – the number of billionaires in the UK has risen from 15 in 1990 to 165 in 2024, one in four of whom, according to the Equality Trust, draw wealth from property and inheritance that contributes nearly nothing to the real economy. At the same time, poverty has increased significantly, with 4.5 million children, or one in three, said to be living in poverty.

Inequality of all kinds is an expression of social injustice and Neo-Liberalism, an extreme form of capitalism that sees everyone as a consumer and everything as an object to be consumed, strengthens every area of inequality.

One of the central tenets of its propaganda – that ‘trickle-down economics’ is the most effective way of spreading wealth – is a complete fantasy; the very opposite is true – wealth flows upwards, with the already rich (people, regions, nations) becoming richer and richer.

Andy Burnham not only recognises this but has openly spoken about it as a fundamental cause of the social and economic misery that millions of people in the UK feel: the lack of hope, and the devastating impact on the nation’s mental health, particularly among under-35s, many of whom cannot find work.

The consequences are stark, particularly in post-industrial towns and cities, where such despair has fuelled racism and division, driving some into the arms of the far right. Whipped up by right-wing lies and distortions, amplified by a compliant media, division has become the dominant political currency in many of these communities – hence Brexit.

Rebuilding Society

Burnham’s entire project is a repudiation of all this, of all that Thatcher and her creed stood for, and stand for. It is an attempt to create greater social justice, to spread opportunities and create economic growth throughout the country – “good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart”; to rebuild the idea of society through a reimagined state that places cooperation, fairness, and collective endeavour at its core.

Redistribution must be at the heart of the Burnham project: redistributing wealth through a tax on assets (one that is not territorially tied) on the very rich, and taxing bank profits; spreading opportunity across the regions via genuine devolution, which gives mayors and councils real control of their area; and creating a culture of innovation and sharing, so that everyone benefits, not just the few.

This means ensuring that secure, well-paid work, good housing, and education choice (as promised) are available in all parts of the country. Such a shift would stand in direct contrast with prevailing attitudes and the current system, which hoards opportunity in the capital, leaves millions in insecure work, fuels division, and enriches a super-rich elite whose wealth contributes nearly nothing to the real economy.

People are crying out for such a shift: for economic and social justice, for better housing, for good, well-paid work, and for broad-based inclusive education.

Tangible change will inevitably take time, but the shift in tone and approach already seen from Burnham and his government is igniting a spark of hope across the country.

This is a moment of enormous national significance, which should not be underestimated. A chance to reverse decades of state cruelty, neglect, and injustice; to prove that politics and governments, when rooted in principles of goodness, can bring lasting change, improving the lives of the majority of people and creating a kinder society at ease with itself.

Andy Burnham, we wish you well.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/08/07/rewiring-britain-the-andy-burnham-project-2/

In our deluded world one of the perks of huge wealth is power, political and corporate — and the two are bedmates. Piles of money also seem to rot the brain, eroding any semblance of rational thinking and common sense as the fingers of narcissism and megalomania engulf the mind and poison the soul.

I recently watched a BBC documentary entitled ‘The Tech Billionaire Takeover’. It featured a series of extremely rich, completely whacky, and very dangerous characters: playing a central role is Justin Sun, CEO of Tron, a blockchain platform where crypto can be bought and sold. Sun is in business with World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto business, although they seem to have fallen out and he is now suing them, and, true to form, the Trumps are suing him. And while the world burns and the people cry out, the pantomime of money goes on, and on.

Another leading figure in the documentary is Tim Draper — “The Risk Master of Silicon Valley”. A venture capitalist, he heads up Draper University — “Building the Next Generation of Superheroes”. A weird place where the ‘gods of money and success’ form the altarpiece, offering “an intensive immersive five-weeks pre-accelerator program” in Hero Training — whatever that is.

Curtis Yarvin, a key figure in shaping the ideology shared by Draper, Sun, Trump, Vance and others, was also featured.

A far-right political blogger and software engineer, in 2008, under his pen name Mencius Moldbug, Yarvin posted an online pamphlet entitled ‘Patchwork: A Political System for the 21st Century’. The basic idea of ‘Patchwork’, according to Moldbug/Yarvin, is the replacement of governments by “a global spiderweb of tens, even hundreds, of thousands of sovereign mini-countries, each governed by its own joint-stock corporation without regard to the residents’ opinions.” Micro-nations, like Liberland, which was featured in the BBC programme.

These small island territories, independently governed backwaters, exist outside international law, with no democratic structures, and are funded not through taxation — nobody pays tax in such bubbles — but through corporate donors. Democracy is jettisoned in favour of a corporate monarchy administered through blockchain, a hidden world of pulsing dashes and dots — where Sun and Co. envision elections taking place within years, not decades, or not never.

On top of their hatred of democracy and social justice, these blinded visionaries hold a dismissive approach towards the environmental emergency.

On this issue too there is broad agreement among the techno-colonialist circle — a symbiotic delusion that might be summed up by Yarvin, who regards the environmental crisis as “basically insignificant” compared to violence, which he considers the only truly significant problem facing humanity. They do not simply ignore the climate crisis; they see it as an opportunity — ‘Catastrophe as an Opportunity’.

Rising sea levels, unbearable heat, drought, floods and so on, are not regarded as disasters but rather the chance to “start society afresh” along ideological lines drawn by the new Monarchs. Non-democratic societies built by the mega-rich from the wreckage of a world ravaged by climate change and ecological collapse — caused by the very ideology of greed that such men champion.

Though not featured, Elon Musk also sits comfortably within the paradigm of extremism that was on display. He has routinely spread misinformation about climate change, including dismissing farming’s impact on the climate. His false and incendiary statements often align with fringe viewpoints that fuel division and downplay the urgency of the climate crisis, leading many to label him a climate denier.

Disbelief

All of this madness was new to me, and I spent most of the time shaking my head in disbelief. To begin with I thought I’d stumbled on a drama series, so horrific and far-fetched was the content.

I had never heard of micronations; I was aware of crypto and blockchain, but, like most people, I had no idea what they really are or how they work. I suspect I am not alone in my ignorance or confusion. Do those investing in crypto, or regulating it — is it even properly regulated? — understand it any better? I doubt it. That, I suspect, is precisely the point.

The digital despots sitting behind such systems profit from collective ignorance. The more obscure the technology, the more power they hold. They speak in jargon, promise utopia, and nobody questions them – because nobody wants to admit they do not understand, and anyway, we all have lives to live.

Where, in such a disturbing dark paradigm, do we find ‘the people’? Where is the accountability, the democratic processes, the aspirational ideals like equality, freedom and social justice?

Wealth, power, inequality, exploitation: entwined social poisons that destroy democracy, make social justice impossible, and fuel division and conflict — constitute the very foundations of the world they want to build.

Clearly these would-be monarchs are not concerned with equality, freedom or social justice — woke ideals, they may call them. On the contrary, they are open about their plans to dismantle democracy, establish private kingdoms and install dictators, oh, and replace money with crypto currencies.

All of this led me to ask myself: what kind of world is it that listens to men like these, and allows them to wield so much power?

It is a world in crisis, without doubt. By ‘world’ we mean society, and by society is meant people. There is no society separate from people; society is not an abstraction existing outside the men and women who populate it.

‘The world’ cannot be changed because it does not exist as an independent form. Rather, it is people who must change — and in changing, accept complete responsibility, both for the chaos that is all around us, and for the new world that, if we are to prosper — indeed, if we are to survive — must be built.

Only then, when we all accept total responsibility for ourselves, for our neighbour and by extension, for society, and in doing so act for the common good, the welfare of our neighbour and the natural world, only then can people like Sun, Draper and ‘The Trumps’ — divisive, cruel men — be consigned to the margins. Their ludicrous, dangerous vision of society seen clearly for what it is, and consigned to irrelevance.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/24/the-new-monarchs-catastrophe-as-opportunity/

The football has been brilliant, because football is brilliant. But the 2026 World Cup—hosted across the US, Canada, and Mexico—mainly in America—is the most corrupt, polluted tournament it’s 96-year history. 

Let’s start with discrimination: Omar Artan, the first Somali referee ever invited to officiate at a World Cup, was refused entry at Miami airport—having been issued a US visa—based on spurious claims of “terrorist connections.” He flew home to a hero’s welcome, celebrated for his dignified response to a humiliating ordeal.

Palestinian Football Federation President Jibril al-Rajoub was denied entry to the US; fifteen members of Iran’s delegation were refused visas, and the Iran national team was forced to commute from Mexico for matches in the US.

Iraqi striker Aymen Hussein was detained for nearly seven hours at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, his mobile phone confiscated and searched; Iraqi team photographer Talal Salah was deported after more than ten hours in detention; Brazilian journalist Karine Alves was racially profiled and subjected to a strip search upon arrival at a New Jersey airport.

Senegal and Ivory Coast fans were barred by Trump’s travel bans. The Ivory Coast supporters’ group president stated: “the US government does not want to see supporters from certain countries, including Ivory Coast, on its soil.” 

Dozens of Moroccan supporters were denied entry into the US. Many had purchased match tickets of around $500 each, with some buying three-match packages totalling $1,500, and paid visa fees of $180, with total individual losses reaching up to $2,000, plus flights and hotel costs.

The exclusion of African and Muslim-majority nations was the pattern, a level of discrimination that makes a mockery of FIFA’s claim that this was the “most inclusive World Cup in history.”

Corruption and Greed

It is the financial exploitation of supporters that stands out as the crudest, most visible form of corruption. From FIFA’s eye-watering ticket prices to inflated air and train fares in the US, visceral greed has polluted this World Cup.

Less than 2 per cent of tickets have been made available at the much-trumpeted “budget” $60 price point (for the worst seats in the stadium), and even these were commanding resale prices averaging $1,600. The cheapest ticket for the final exceeds $2,600; the top category, originally priced at $6,730, rose to $32,970—an increase of 417 per cent—thanks to “dynamic pricing,” a demand-based system designed to maximise FIFA’s revenue.

US airlines operating flights to host cities bumped up fares by an average of 42 per cent. Public transport to stadiums has been similarly exploited: a standard $13 journey from New York to MetLife Stadium rose to $98 on match days.

FIFA’s ticket pricing has been so extortionate that prosecutors in New York and New Jersey have launched legal investigations into FIFA’s tariffs, citing “unreasonably high” ticket costs.

Total revenue for the 2022–2026 cycle is projected to be FIFA’s highest ever—hitting $13 billion—virtually double the $7.57 billion generated in the previous period, and a 73% increase on the 2019–2022 cycle.

The 2026 World Cup is the perfect union of filth and greed: the major host, America—a country led by the most corrupt president in US history—and FIFA, an unethical, unaccountable organisation led by a sycophantic megalomaniac—Gianni Infantino—who appears to see himself as the head of a nation state, rather than football’s governing body.

As Reboot FIFA states: “FIFA isn’t fit to govern world football and needs to be rebooted as an organisation so that it runs the global game in the interests of players, supporters and communities, rather than the interests of corrupt football elites, big business and authoritarian states.”

FIFA’s institutional cowardice was revealed in the starkest way on 5 July, when the US forward, Folarin Balogun, who had been given a red card in the match with Bosnia-Herzegovina, miraculously had his automatic suspension lifted—just before the knock-out game against Belgium.

It turned out that Trump, who admits to not knowing anything about football, had telephoned Infantino and asked FIFA to review the red card decision. Infantino agreed and the one-match ban was swiftly suspended, allowing Balogun to play against Belgium. Trump later boasted: “I’m the one that got them to do it.”

To the delight of football fans around the world, who were outraged by the injustice of FIFA’s actions, Belgium hammered the USA 4-1. By playing Balogun, the US team revealed itself to be devoid of principles, complicit in the corruption of Trump and Infantino.

Poisoning everything

All of this filth—the manipulation of the rules, the discrimination, and the corruption—reveals two entwined issues, pervasive and polluting: the total disregard for the law by the rich and powerful, particularly Trump and other demagogues; and the socio-economic doctrine of greed and division, which affects the lives of everyone everywhere. An unjust reductive system that reduces everything to a commodity and everyone to a consumer.

This is the American way: a world without substance, where money and winning are everything. A crass, materialistic world in which wealth and power buy impunity, and the vulnerable and marginalised can be ignored and exploited. It is loud and hollow, and it poisons everything it touches.

In spite of all the ugliness, and to the utter credit of the players and the fans, the football has been brilliant—because football is brilliant, uniting people across cultures, creating moments of collective joy and drama that will live long in the memory.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/09/poisoning-the-world-cup-the-american-way/

The hollow, self-righteous defence of “our culture” and “our values” has become an incendiary chant of the far right — particularly in Western, majority white Christian nations.

Both are allegedly under attack — at risk of extinction no less — from, you guessed it, immigrants. Much of this furore has, unsurprisingly, been stoked by extremist politicians and their media stooges, doing what they do best: dividing communities and fuelling hate.

In the UK, Katie Lam, a Conservative MP, recently made the idiotic claim that by deporting “a large number of people in this country who came here legally,” the country would be left with “a mostly but not entirely culturally coherent group of people.” Culturally coherent, no doubt, equates in her bigoted mind to white Christian.

It is a sign of the unhinged times we are living in, in the UK and many Western countries, that such comments can now be made with impunity. Lam was neither condemned nor publicly criticised by the leader of the Conservatives, Kemi Badenoch, and has not been reprimanded.

Together with their misguided supporters, these reactionary fanatics insist that their nation’s culture — whatever that may be (it’s rarely defined) — is being eroded by foreigners: Muslims are often the primary targets, but others are also vilified: Pakistanis, Indians, Iraqis, Afghans, and people from sub-Saharan Africa — Black, Brown, or Arabic-speaking individuals, in other words. But they’re not racist, of course, these flag-waving opportunists; they just “want their country back.”

An essential ingredient of any self-respecting fascist is extreme nationalism — tribalism — and an exaggerated, false image of their nation. Historical ignorance is central to this construct, or rather, the selective use of history — cherry-picking fragments of the past and recasting them as patriotic myth.

Defining culture

The arts — visual and performing, high and low (that’s another discussion) — constitute the empirical core of a nation’s culture: museums, galleries, concert halls, literature, and theatre, but also television, pop music, pulp fiction, magazines, and radio. Culture, however, extends further still — encompassing religion, food, sport, social media, shared history, and, crucially, language, the nuanced medium through which ideas of nationhood and identity are expressed.

This broad and inclusive definition of culture is not, however, what the fanatics mean when they speak of their (national) “culture” being under threat. In their prejudicial world, culture has become shorthand for tribalism: a narrow, exclusive construct, readily adopted by those feeling disenfranchised and angry as a result of socio-economic injustice and extreme hardship.

The far right, and many centre-right politicians, increasingly openly define this construct as ‘white/white Christian.’ It is extremely dangerous and implicitly racist, and therefore anathema to true culture, which is inclusive, diverse, and rich with colour, sound, and movement.

Wherever the far right has a presence, and its poison spreads like a plague, the same false claims are made: that ‘our culture,’ supposedly more ‘pure’ than ‘their’ culture, is under threat and at risk of being polluted.

In Trump’s America, immigrants are portrayed as a threat to the “American way of life” and are actively targeted. In France, the “defence of French culture” is routinely cited to justify religious intolerance — such as banning the Burka. In Germany, the AfD — a fascist group supported by JD Vance — repeatedly claims that “German identity” is at risk due to immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa.

Even in sunny Australia, right-wing politicians and media increasingly present immigration and cultural diversity as a threat to “Australian values.” And in the UK, amid the growing prominence of Reform UK, the country is navigating a socio-political and cultural crisis.

All of these movements, and numerous others across the Western world, exploit fear and insecurity, using language, symbols (such as national flags), and media as instruments to inflame division and reinforce a false threat to cultural coherence.

The Far-Right Myth

The cultural life and content of these Western nations, especially younger ones like the US and Australia (where indigenous cultures have been systematically attacked, suppressed, and/or obliterated), is increasingly homogenised. Shaped by consumerism and materialistic values emanating from the imperial centre — America — this erodes individuality, making populations easier to control, more predictable, and simpler to influence or market.

As for Western “values” — freedom, justice, equality — these are routinely reduced to little more than slogans and political rhetoric, exposing the hypocrisy of duplicitous politicians who invoke such noble ideals to claim the moral high ground when criticising their adversaries, while simultaneously carrying out acts of violence and suppression at home and abroad. Their hypocrisy knows no limits.

Ironically, and in keeping with the double standards of the West, these nations have long imposed cultural colonialism on the Global South.

European imperialists forced their languages, religions, and ways of life on conquered peoples, erasing ancient cultures and traditions. Under American hegemony, since the end of WW2, money and military might became the instruments of control, while film, media, and corporate power export the ‘American way of life’ — a narrow, shallow, materialistic creed presented as the ideal for everyone.

The current rhetoric around cultural “contamination” being advanced by the far right is a manufactured political weapon, designed to coerce and enflame the public. It is a tool of division, deployed to distract from the real causes of inequality and societal fracture — political failure and the unjust, corrupt socio-economic system that dominates people’s lives.

There is no genuine “threat” to culture; in fact, this entire construct has nothing to do with culture at all — it is about power, control, and the continued manipulation of the vulnerable and dispossessed within society.

Culture and diversity have always been enriching. The exchange of traditions, ideas, and stories builds stronger, more resilient communities. But such unity is exactly what the far right fears most: for it portends their end, and hence the attacks.

Theirs is the politics of hate, thriving on division and mistrust. True culture is unifying, rooted in our relationships — with one another, with ourselves, and with the natural world, in embracing difference rather than fearing it, and in exploring the shared human experience that unites us all.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/24/weaponising-culture-dividing-to-rule/

It has been described as the root of all evil. It is that insipid form of cowardice, indifference, and selfishness that allows human suffering, exploitation, and oppression in all its forms to prevail.

It feeds apathy and inaction in the face of war, social injustice, and environmental breakdown, and it enables the turning of a blind eye and a deaf ear to the horrors of state terrorism and genocide. It is complacency.

Conditioning into complacency takes place virtually from birth, through a materialistic value system built on division and selfishness. What ‘I want’ is all that matters — regardless of the impact on others, society, or the natural world.

It lies at the root of the “I’m alright, Jack” culture, so beloved by devotees of neoliberalism.

Meanwhile, the house — our house — is on fire, literally in many places. The planet is being vandalised, the climate disoriented, and societies fragmented by division and extremism. Armed conflicts multiply. And Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza stands as the greatest war crime since the Second World War.

It is complacency that allows all of this, and more, to happen. Not among those marching and protesting on the streets of capitals around the world, but within the offices of power: the governments, corporations, and institutions that shape the world.

Among the rich and comfortable — those not living under the suffocating weight of poverty and financial insecurity, which affects the vast majority of the world’s population — it is widespread. Complacency also exists among the poor, though for different reasons. It is born out of a sense of hopelessness, and, in some cultures, a rigid or internalised notion of class — or caste, as in India — reinforcing a sense of fatalism that robs people of agency.

Governments, of course, bear the greatest responsibility — and opportunity — since they have the power to bring about change through policy decisions and the tone they set. Corporations, too, wield enormous influence, and therefore responsibility. And it is these groups, dominated by men, whose complacency carries the greatest consequences.

Nowhere is complacency more apparent than in the West, and nowhere is the weight of historic persecution and violence heavier than in former colonial powers. Their fearful silence allows atrocities and misinformation to proliferate — emboldening those who would exploit power, distort the truth, and marginalize the vulnerable.

These governments routinely proclaim their commitment to democracy, human rights, social justice, environmental protection, and peace, yet are among the most complacent — and thus hypocritical and dishonest. Their actions are overwhelmingly shaped by geopolitical bias and economic interests, rather than compassion and moral duty, to the point that complacency, in cases such as Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people, climate breakdown, or the flouting of international law, becomes complicity.

The Antidote

It is against this pervasive complacency that love stands as the only true counterforce — love, and all that flows from it: compassion, selflessness, justice, goodwill, and human kindness. Complacency, by contrast, grows out of self-interest; it develops from a belief in separation and finds expression in the denial of responsibility for others, for society, and for the environment.

Love, on the other hand — not sentimental, emotional love, but the impersonal uniting force that holds all things intact — is inherently outward-looking and active. It drives engagement and responsibility; it animates acts of brotherhood and underpins expressions of collective goodwill. t manifests in collective demands for justice and freedom, and in individual demonstrations of unconditional kindness. It is the hidden source, the impelling impulse, urging every expression of life toward unity.

To confront complacency, we must therefore cultivate love in all areas of life. Only then will justice, freedom, and peace flourish — principles of goodness carried within the hearts of people everywhere, that will never be realised while complacency holds sway. For while love is the silent seed of truth, complacency is, indeed, the root of all evil.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/26/the-root-of-all-evil/

For decades — or perhaps centuries — collapse has been underway: the fragmentation of social, economic, and political order; the hollowing-out of law at both domestic and international levels; and the unrelenting duplicity and hypocrisy of those in power pushing the boundaries.

Today, chaos reigns: widespread violent extremism, state impunity, acute social divisions, and appalling environmental degradation. It was always going to come to this. Death and destruction are inbuilt.

Structural injustices and destructive behaviours are pushing planetary and socio-economic systems beyond their carrying capacities, toward critical tipping points and potential collapse.

The destruction of civilisation’s architecture, visible all around us, is the inevitable outcome of the poisonous ideology that underpins our age — colonial neoliberalism, coupled with State complacency.

Neoliberalism is inherently divisive and unjust, and therefore incapable of producing peace or social justice. Entwined with imperialism, it functions as the ideological instrument of global domination, suppression, and control.

Emerging in the late 20th century under Thatcher and Reagan, neoliberalism was exported globally through institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and World Trade Organisation (WTO). Social protections and workers’ rights were dismantled, public industries privatised, and industry deregulated.

Through debt, trade agreements administered via the WTO, and Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs), nations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia were subordinated economically and politically to the Global North — extending colonial control through economic and political mechanisms.

At its ideological core, neoliberalism rests on a nihilistic doctrine: that materialism, profit, and individual desire are key human values. Within this reductive worldview, production is organised solely around what is profitable for capital — exploiting labour, resources, and productive assets, enriching imperial and colonial centres rather than meeting human needs or safeguarding the planet.

It is an inhumane, violent system, administered by colonial powers dominated by the US, to the detriment of the poor everywhere and of the natural world.

Colonial neoliberalism builds upon centuries of domination of the Global South by the North. From the 1500s onwards, European powers plundered Africa, Asia, and the Americas, extracting resources and subjugating populations into forced labour for their enrichment.

After the Second World War, the United States took up the reins of exploitation, using economic and military power to assert its will. Hundreds of thousands were killed in suppressive acts of unrelenting violence in Korea, Vietnam, the Congo, and Chile. Through direct actions, coups, and covert operations, economic control and political suppression were used by US administrations of both colours to subjugate these nations.

Today, the same inhumane playbook is being applied in Palestine, where Israel — a Euro-American settler colony and imperial outpost in the Middle East — is, as the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry recently confirmed, carrying out genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, alongside the systematic destruction of Palestinian society and the environment. Hamza Hamouchene describes this as a Holocide: “the total destruction of the social and ecological life in Palestine,” capturing the entwined human and environmental devastation wrought by imperial-colonial systems, in full view, and to the shame of all.

Economic democracy

Whilst Western democracies may allow a degree of political participation, there is no economic democracy. Neoliberalism concentrates economic power in the hands of a tiny few — a number that shrinks year on year, even as their wealth expands. Ordinary people — the 99.9% — have no meaningful control over the economic systems that govern their lives.

The central force driving economic policy and corporate life is the pursuit of profitable returns for capital — a goal almost always prioritised over social needs such as healthcare, education, and affordable housing.

The consequences of this doctrine are manifold: vast inequalities of wealth, income, and opportunity; austerity and crushing debt; weak, dependent governments at the mercy of markets and multinational corporations; inadequate public services; and ongoing environmental destruction, compounded by governmental inaction.

Alongside these structural injustices, the Ideology of Greed and Division promotes a self-perpetuating series of destructive values: selfishness, conformity, and relentless competition are elevated, while cooperation and compassion are marginalised. It fuels divisions of all kinds, and division begets conflict, within individuals, communities, nations, and globally.

The extreme fractures now visible across society — economic, social, political, legal, and ecological — are tearing at the very fabric of life.

This total chaos was always going to happen. This divisive, unjust, and unhealthy way of living, founded on a violent ideology rooted in exploitation, greed, and division, could only lead to this point — and beyond. We may not yet have reached the limit of destruction: a colossal crisis of interrelated failures.

Nowhere is the system’s barbarism clearer than in Palestine, where Israel’s genocide lays bare the vicious logic of empire: impunity for the powerful, the abandonment of international law, unrestrained violence, and the subjugation of truth.

It is a system violent without limits, driven by men obsessed with power and control, that enables figures like Netanyahu — and others, including Trump — to seize power and commit unimaginable crimes.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/19/this-was-always-coming/

Britain is in pieces—politically, economically, socially, and in terms of national identity.

The country’s existential mess has deep roots, dating back to the Thatcher years (UK Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990). Under her catastrophic reign, market fundamentalism and privatisation took hold, society was dismantled, and the foundations of the welfare state were eroded.

This destructive ideological approach persisted through 14 years (2010–2024) of Conservative rule—a dark period marked by austerity, neglect, social fragmentation, the calculated dismantling of public services, and the hollowing out of civil society.

If the damage is to be undone and a new nation built, it will take creative reimagining, a long-term principled approach, and political humility—all of which are currently absent in the Labour government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Signs of Decline

The system of governance itself requires major reform: it is increasingly centralised, unrepresentative, and undemocratic. First-past-the-post elections routinely deliver disproportionate outcomes—smaller parties are sidelined, and when a party holds a large parliamentary majority, as Labour does now (with a 156-seat lead over all opposition parties combined), it becomes virtually unaccountable.

It is a system run by rigid technocrats, seemingly incapable of imagining the scope of systemic change needed. The evidence of decline is everywhere:

Income and wealth inequality is the highest in Europe; the richest 10% of households own more than 45% of the nation’s wealth, while real wages have stagnated for 16 years; over 4.2 million children—around 30% of the total—now live below the poverty line; homelessness is at its highest level among developed nations; the National Health Service is in crisis; prisons are dangerously overcrowded—the UK imprisons more people per capita than any other European country—and they are severely under-resourced; local government, underfunded for over a decade, faces colossal pressure: youth services, social care, libraries, and basic infrastructure have all been gutted.

Add to this Brexit, environmental degradation, species loss, crumbling infrastructure, and failing transport networks, and the picture of a country with its very heart ripped out begins to emerge.

Politicians and institutions—including the media—are widely mistrusted. Public despair, division, and anger run deep, particularly among young people, many of whom feel hopeless.

The Human Cost

The cumulative impact of 14 years of callous governments, combined with the divisive fallout of Brexit, has deeply scarred the country’s emotional and psychological life.

The result is a form of collective trauma that has fractured national identity and shattered any remaining sense of dignity, fuelling widespread resentment—particularly among neglected working-class communities.

Mental illness is soaring, with one in five people reporting struggles of one kind or another—young people and women are particularly impacted. Obesity rates are among the highest in Western Europe, with 64.5% of adults classified as overweight or obese, contributing to a growing health crisis.

A hedonistic, often macho, culture has taken firmer hold, fuelled by online misogynists like the Tate brothers. Nearly two-thirds of teachers report that social media has worsened student behaviour, with boys increasingly adopting toxic attitudes—including refusing to engage with female teachers.

One of the most alarming trends is the rise in violence against women, both online and in person. Antisocial behaviour has surged (up 14% between 2021 and 2023), including a sharp rise in assaults on teachers—reflecting a broader rejection of authority and a deepening culture of selfish individualism.

Fractured communities—often along racial lines—have created fertile ground for the far right, now resurgent. Intolerance and racism are growing, as seen in the race riots of 2024, triggered by extremist rhetoric, social media disinformation, and shameless political opportunism.

Right-wing politicians and their angry, muddled supporters hark back to a mythical past, blaming every problem on immigration and lamenting the loss of ill-defined “British values.” But when asked to explain what these are, few can offer more than empty slogans.

The values most often cited—freedom, fairness, tolerance, and the rule of law—are shared, more or less, across liberal democracies everywhere. In Britain today, these ideals are being steadily eroded and, in many cases, are little more than righteous rhetoric.

The gap between what Britain imagines itself to be and what it is becoming lies at the heart of its identity crisis and lack of direction.

There is little or no social justice; racism and intolerance of immigrants and refugees are on the rise, inflamed by opportunistic politicians and a right-wing media. Freedoms once taken for granted—expression, protest, and the press—are being systematically undermined by repressive laws, increased surveillance, and hostility toward dissent.

The recent proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group is just the latest act of control and hypocrisy in a long and growing list of repressive measures aimed at criminalising peaceful protest and silencing dissent. That same hypocrisy was laid bare in the political outrage and media hysteria over Bob Vylan’s “Death to the IDF” chant at Glastonbury.

While they condemn a punk artist’s words, these same voices remain silent in the face of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza—including the targeting of civilians at so-called humanitarian food distribution points, which are nothing less than IDF killing zones.

Symbolic protest is punished; mass killing is ignored—or enabled.

Such double standards reveal the moral void at the heart of Britain’s political establishment and media landscape—contradictions and cowardice that warp the national conversation, encourage lawlessness, and distort public opinion.

What Must Change

Britain’s woes are not simply the result of mismanagement, nor can they be resolved by running existing systems more efficiently—as Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Co. seem to believe. The crisis is fundamental, rooted in systemic inadequacies and long-term structural decline: economic, political, social and moral. While minor improvements may be possible (such as reducing NHS waiting times), no amount of tinkering will deliver the transformation needed.

A fundamental reset is required—a radical shift in thinking rooted in social justice, democratic accountability, and respect for international law; anchored in a shared commitment to the common good, to peace, and to environmental repair.

First-past-the-post must go, replaced by proportional representation; the voting age lowered to 16, and voting made compulsory; the House of Lords abolished or replaced with a democratic second chamber; and power meaningfully devolved to the regions and local communities.

A network of citizens’ assemblies should be created to revitalise democratic engagement—scrutinising legislation, contributing to parliamentary debate, and, in time, evolving into a second (or third) chamber. A written constitution is essential—one that defines rights, outlines responsibilities, and limits state power. The media must be reformed, and the dominance of billionaire-owned outlets directly challenged—and, where necessary, dismantled.

A clear, confident case for rejoining the European Union—or at least the customs union—must be made. Brexit has been traumatic—not only economically, but socially and diplomatically. It has inflamed nationalist delusions and shattered Britain’s standing not just in Europe, but across the world.

Choices

There is a weariness and tension across the country—a loss of identity post-Brexit, a collapse of self-belief, mingled with a quiet desperation for change.

Within this febrile space, the nation faces a defining choice: the possibility of hopeful, progressive renewal—or a fearful, reactionary response that opens the door to extremism.

Rising support for progressive parties such as the Greens and Lib Dems, along with talk of a new socialist party led by Jeremy Corbyn and MP Zarah Sultana, are signs of public appetite for real alternatives—rooted in social justice, climate action, and ethical foreign policy, including principled solidarity with the Palestinian people.

At the same time, however, poisonous far-right voices—most notably Reform UK—continue to exploit the chaos, peddling fear, resentment, and division.

To avoid deeper social fragmentation and rekindle a sense of hope, moral principles—courageously held—must return to the heart of government, not as empty slogans but as actions rooted in social justice and inclusion.

It requires sustained environmental action to meet Net Zero targets and generate green jobs; adherence to international law and accountability when it is violated—no matter by whom; and an end to the hypocrisy that defines UK foreign policy—including the withdrawal of support from regimes that commit state violence with impunity, most notably Israel.

There is, without question, an appetite for transformation. It was hoped Labour would deliver it after winning power—but so far, the party has proven wholly inadequate to the scale and seriousness of the challenge: weak in the face of international horrors, and now complicit in the genocide against Palestinians being methodically executed by Israel.

Whilst the specifics may be unique to Britain, the crisis is not. Across the West, inequality, ecological collapse, economic divisions, and democratic erosion are accelerating. And yet conservative/reactionary forces remain deeply entrenched—complacent, insulated, and fiercely protective of the status quo. They cling to failed systems and discredited ideologies, wilfully refusing to act.

The just future so many long for will not be willingly handed over by entrenched power. If renewal and change are to come—if true democracy is to flourish, with social justice and freedom at its heart, in Britain or the world—they must be fought for and demanded loudly and persistently.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/07/18/what-has-become-of-britain/

We are living in an increasingly lawless, shadowy world—where international conventions and institutions are not just ignored, but actively undermined, as powerful states engage in acts amounting to state terrorism.

From Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s genocide of Palestinians to the United States’ repeated use of pre-emptive force against sovereign nations, the post–World War II global order is facing a sustained and intensifying assault.

Alongside this breakdown in international law is a deeper erosion of political trust—driven by the hypocrisy, arrogance, and double standards of Western powers, led by the United States.

Such destructive patterns are profoundly dangerous: they push the world closer to war and send a clear signal to authoritarian regimes, terrorist groups, and criminals everywhere—that the rule of law no longer matters, that might is right, and anything goes. Impunity, distortion of truth, and the collapse of democratic oversight feed this descent, unraveling the bonds of social responsibility.

And as global institutions are weakened, the world is being remilitarised—not to ensure safety, but to create fear and preserve dominance. Western governments are shifting to a so-called “war footing,” ramping up military spending while public services like education and healthcare cry out for investment. But who exactly are they preparing to fight?

Many so-called threats stem not from the expansive ambitions of foreign powers, but from the West’s long history of aggression, duplicity, and intervention.

If peace is truly the aim, as politicians claim, armed conflict must be rejected totally and the machinery of war dismantled. This requires a renewed commitment to International Humanitarian Law and the institutions built to uphold it, most notably the United Nations.

Peace can never take root without trust—between nations, and between governments and their own people. And trust cannot grow in the shadow of tanks and lies, while the rule of law is flouted.

Double standards

Nowhere is the onslaught against International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and global institutions more visible or devastating than in Israel’s genocidal assault on the Palestinian people and the recent unprovoked U.S.–Israeli attack on Iran.

While Israel’s pattern of disregarding IHL and United Nations resolutions is longstanding, its horrific actions in Gaza have elevated its criminality to unprecedented levels. Since 7 October 2023, at least 55,104 Palestinians—most of them women and children—have been killed, and an estimated 127,394 injured.

Israel’s aggression, however, is not limited to Gaza; its recent strike on Iran further underscores its insatiable appetite for violence and destruction.

While America and its allies portray Iran as an existential threat to Middle Eastern peace, it is Israel—through its nuclear opacity, genocidal violence, and open contempt for international law and institutions—that poses the greater danger. Not only to Palestinians and the wider Arab world but to the very idea of a lawful and peaceful international order.

In response to the U.S.–Israeli attacks on Iran, Secretary-General António Guterres declared:

“I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today. This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge—and a direct threat to international peace and security… I call on Member States to de-escalate and to uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and other rules of international law. At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos.”

The Secretary-General’s principled stance stood in stark contrast to the weak and evasive comments of Western leaders who, with few exceptions, predictably fell into line behind the Israel–U.S. narrative.

These shamefully spineless responses expose the structural racism embedded in global geopolitics. When atrocities are committed by Western powers or their allies, they are overlooked, excused, or justified; but when similar crimes are committed by adversaries, they are loudly condemned.

Within this morally bankrupt framework, human life is not valued equally. Palestinians—and Muslims more broadly—are too often defamed and treated as expendable, denied the rights and protections routinely granted to others, whether in war zones or as migrants seeking refuge.

The same double standard applies to citizens in Sub-Saharan Africa—in Ethiopia (where the State-sponsored Amhara genocide is ignored), Sudan, Somalia, and elsewhere – after all, they are Black and poor, and therefore invisible within a system that devalues both race and poverty.

Moral voice

In a world fractured by self-interest and materialism, and awash with double standards, the principled resolve of independent international bodies — chief among them the United Nations — is more vital than ever.

Despite being routinely sidelined, and notwithstanding its structural flaws—most notably the Security Council—and its bureaucratic density, the UN, established to promote peace and foster dialogue between nations, remains a defining achievement of humanity, serving as a symbol of unity, cooperation, and collective responsibility.

Operating outside ideology and the corrupting constraints of national self-interest, it is one of the few global institutions still capable of speaking with honesty and moral authority.

Its ethical voice is urgently needed in the face of grave violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and mounting criminality—including, but not limited to, those committed by Israel. With full U.S. backing, Israel violates IHL with brazen impunity, weaponises disinformation to obscure its actions, vilifies UN agencies and blocks aid deliveries.

The distribution of Humanitarian relief has been militarised through the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), which UN officials have condemned as “an abomination” and “a death trap.” More than 400 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured at GHF distribution points—locations that resemble execution zones more than places of relief.

These are not isolated legal breaches, and the consequences reach far beyond Gaza. They feed a growing atmosphere of societal breakdown; they embolden impunity and criminality, erode the legitimacy of international institutions, and weaken the rule of law—from international courts to domestic policy.

But perhaps even more dangerous is the corrosion of the moral structure that underpins global society: the unwritten code of decency, restraint, and shared responsibility—without which communities unravel, hate and suspicion of ‘the other’ (especially migrants and ‘foreigners’) grow, divisions widen, and where there is division, conflict inevitably follows.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/06/27/a-world-without-law-when-might-is-right/

What is happening to the world? It’s a question being asked with growing urgency around the globe. Wars rage on, systems and institutions are faltering; divisions of all kinds, including widening inequalities, are deepening—heightening the risk of conflict. The environmental emergency is accelerating, and uncertainty reigns, fuelling a global mental health epidemic.

Is poor leadership and geopolitical mismanagement at the root of our problems—or are we witnessing the slow, perhaps inevitable, collapse of civilisation itself?

Civilizations do not collapse overnight, but unravel over centuries as established systems, values, and ways of living decay. The underlying structures—economic, political, social, ecological—gradually fracture, until the mechanisms that once held everything together can no longer absorb the strain.

As pressures such as extreme inequality and ecological breakdown reach critical thresholds, tipping points are triggered—points beyond which reversal becomes impossible, at least in the short to medium term. Despite this, warning signs are routinely ignored, deferring action to an imagined future, when things will miraculously improve.

The refusal to respond proportionately to the risk ensures that systemic failure—and in some cases, outright collapse within particular domains—is virtually inevitable. Such breakdown often results from a system’s carrying capacity being exceeded—the point beyond which it can no longer sustain existing levels of demand, tension, or pressure. Once that threshold is crossed, the only remaining question is when collapse will occur, not if.

While breaching carrying capacity may be the structural trigger for collapse, the deeper causes are more complex and multi-layered: a toxic mix of hubris, ideological rigidity, denial of stark realities, systemic inertia—and, arguably, deeper energetic shifts. Today, these dynamics are reinforced by political complacency and corporate influence/power, ensuring the survival of unjust systems—no matter the cost.

Crisis Cascade

The consequences of entrenched resistance to change—and the arrogance that fuels it—are now starkly visible: multiple systems are under extreme stress, many of them either approaching or already breaching their carrying capacity.

Critical areas, themselves symptomatic of deeper systemic pressures, include social injustice/exploitation, economic inequality, armed conflict, and mass displacement, while the environmental emergency stands out as the defining existential threat of our time. Key planetary boundaries—from biodiversity to climate stability—are being crossed, bringing irreversible tipping points dangerously close.

Economic inequality is intensifying, spiralling debt traps entire populations in cycles of generational hardship, and poverty is becoming endemic—from low-income households in the West to indebted nations across the Global South.

These and other conditions are feeding a series of interconnected fires: social unrest, widespread psychological distress, deepening political polarisation, and the rise of far-right extremism. Exploitative, dangerous politicians are being empowered, while civic trust, institutional credibility, and the foundations of democracy continue to erode.

In parallel, armed conflicts persist, and the legal and moral frameworks meant to govern warfare are being flagrantly disregarded—nowhere more so than in Israel, where the state is committing grave violations of international humanitarian law, including genocide against the Palestinian people.

These crises are not separate or isolated. They are interwoven, each reinforcing the next, accelerating the risk of cascading breakdown. Climate change and ecological stress destabilise economies; economic exclusion and systemic injustice fuel extremism, division, and violence—driving displacement and mass migration. Institutional fragility compounds political inaction, paving the way for authoritarianism and the collapse of democratic norms.

Transitional times

While the scale and interconnectedness of today’s challenges are unprecedented, civilisational breakdown itself is not new.

From Rome to the Maya and Mesopotamia, history reveals societies that underwent seismic transformation—events often painful, yet ultimately generative. Such collapses acted as a kind of clearing agent, creating space for new forms to emerge: evolving social orders, cosmologies, and ways of living that more closely reflected the needs of a changing epoch.

There are myriad signs suggesting we may be experiencing the birth pangs of such a global transition—a profound shift with the potential to reimagine civilisation and transform human consciousness.

Yet resistance to change remains fierce—entrenched powers cling to fading worldviews and obsolete systems, rather than adapt to emerging realities or create the space for transformative thought. And with resistance comes conflict: the old must give way to the new—or as one wise voice put it, “The old bottles must be broken; the new wine deserves better.”

The clash between progressive forces seeking transformation and those clinging to power is no abstraction—it is expressed daily in competing values, visions, and worldviews, with divisions growing more polarised year by year. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the global landscape has been shaped by two opposing currents.

One is a rising tide of people demanding change—calling for justice, equality, ecological repair, and a reimagining of how we live. From the Arab Spring to Occupy, from climate marches to Black Lives Matter, this is the powerful voice of a world community desperate for new ways of living.

The other is a shrinking but determined reactionary minority, which in many cases holds political and corporate power. Wedded to outdated structures and backward-looking worldviews, they are increasingly resorting to extreme tactics to maintain the cruel, unjust status quo and the dysfunctional systems that underpin it.

These reactionary elites—age-old deniers to progress, justice and equality—are not merely indifferent to change; they are actively hostile to it. Their resistance is not only ideological but existential, driven by the recognition that the collapse of the old order threatens their power and control.

In their attempts to preserve decaying systems and suppress the inevitability of transformation, they deepen the crises destabilising our world. As a result, instead of a peaceful, evolutionary transition from one age or civilisation to another, we face conflict and division—an existential battle, the outcome of which will shape the future for generations to come

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/06/20/is-this-what-collapse-looks-like/.