How Societies Collapse
Are We Already in a Slow Collapse?
In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Florian U. Jehn, a researcher who studies the nature of societal collapse and the author of the blog Existential Crunch. Existential Crunch examines and summarizes scientific work in this space, serving as a living literature review of research on societal collapse.
Samuel and Florian discuss the origins of Existential Crunch, the radically interdisciplinary nature of collapse studies, and how the field cuts across domains—from the statistical study of history and the rise and fall of civilizations to catastrophic and existential risk, and the mechanics of societal resilience. They also explore what collapse might feel like from the inside, and whether we could already be living through a slow-motion version of it.
Fascinating framing around whether collapse is already underway vs some future event. The interdisciplinary angle is crucial because most analysis treats collapse as purely economic or political when its really a cascade across multiple systems. That question about what slow collapse feels like from inside is unsettling becuase it suggests we might lack the perspective to recognize our own situation. Reminds me of how incremental changes become invisible until they're ireversible.