RE: What do you think will save us, if anything? (in terms of climate action)
The better we learn to work with the earth, the more likely we can survive disaster when it strikes.
totally agree. and i also agree when you say that these large scale implemented from above "balancing measures" would be disastrous. i believe the solutions are small, simple, attainable and when implemented by many bring great change. i think many of the problems facing us today are because people have done things at too large of a scale without properly understanding the implications of their actions.
as far as the rest of your thoughts are concerned, a morbid road indeed. part of me hopes that the social experiments and "natural culling" that you speak of will never come to pass because we humans not in those powerful positions will finally get a clue and rebel against these forces through taking our power back. i agree that the most adaptable, skillful humans will flee to the mountains and other climes and survive - who knows where the best spots truly are however because we cannot predict in exactly what way climate catastrophes will hit the earth. i agree with you for sure about the need to want less. i think we see it in some ways and on a small scale with the voluntary simplicity movements, but it's no where near a mainstream trend.
as you're talking about balancing effects as well, i have to wonder too if the simplicity and "want-less" actions that become movements aren't also our interior response to collective unconscious understandings that if we adopt those trends we might have a better chance at survival. yet perhaps the powers of ignore-ance and insatiable appetite will continue to dominate as our overarching modern narrative is that of the hollywood mansions variety.
Like how you tied in the collective consciousness.
Yesterday I was pondering what the world would be like if mainstream society became dominated by a computerized internet linked MK Ultra type brain. All middle class and wealthy people are hooked up to a Borg headset, with different models and tier levels based on how important you are, which means different levels of control might be enacted on you to feed the goals of the machine.
In my fantasy, I thought of a collective consciousness as a Star Wars Force type cult called The One, unable to be exterminated because they grow in strength and numbers even beyond death. They would be known by the masses as being aesthetic, poor, terrorists, and known to perform Japanese style ceremonial acts of suicide to achieve dimensional ascension of the mind.
Thanks for the response. I really have no idea what solution is best. One thing I think gets overlooked is culture. Although it is a social construct, it is an instinctual human behavior development based on the land where a person comes from. Family size, arranged marriages, dowry, etc. These things have a direct relation on how quickly the population will grow. When people bring culture to foreign lands, they are often surrounded with racism and bigotry. Their culture is clashing with another that has been the established norm there. It can lead to more of the culling effect that is so awful. Without getting into that issue, I will say that some of the region specific cultures must be part of the key to unlocking a balance between population and consumption/pollution for their zone of origin. Each place on earth requires different lifestyle choices in order to survive.