RRU in the media: How to interrupt a polycrisis
We are witnessing an unprecedented frequency of extraordinary events, from extreme weather patterns to geopolitical upheavals and everything in between. Experts like Thomas Homer-Dixon, executive director of the Cascade Institute at Royal Roads University, believe the chain of catastrophic events is connected, and can be described by the term “polycrisis.”
Halting a boundless negative feedback loop is intimidating, but Homer-Dixon provides some reassurance in his recent interview with The Guardian. Here is an excerpt from the article:
On the other hand, “the crisis can actually be a moment for really significant change,” he says, “because it kind of delegitimizes the existing way of doing stuff, the existing vested-interest stakeholders who are hunkered down and don’t want anything to change”. For instance, while Homer-Dixon sees Donald Trump as an “abominable” figure, he also notes that, “like an acid”, the president dissolves norms around him. That creates the risk of disaster but also offers opportunities to change the world for the better.
“This really is a critical moment in human history and things can be done,” Homer-Dixon says. “We don’t know enough about how these systems are operating to know that it’s game over.”