Is the end of the world near? Probably not, but talking about it sure sells a lot of books and DVD’s

Okay, western civilization. You had your shot, and the best you could muster was Lady Gaga, Glenn Beck, mortgage derivatives, and American Idol. So when the hell are you going to end like any other self-respecting civilization? Well, pretty soon, according to the seemingly intelligent people who’ve posted 18 pages of immensely detailed commentary on sites like this. And also according to seemingly intelligent people like Michael Ruppert, former LAPD officer, writer, and founder/editor of From The Wilderness , the popular newsletter and website devoted to investigating political cover-ups and peak oil issues. I recently watched the film Collapse, which is essentially an 80-minute monologue delivered by Ruppert in an Errol Morris-like documentary style. Ruppert is an intelligent and articulate guy, and has clearly done his research. And he’s convinced the end is near. I can actually recommend the film; it’s definitely thought-provoking. But as I watched it, a line of thought kept occurring to me. People like Ruppert present a pretty good case for our impending demise, but why are they so fixated on this simplistic outcome? Why such apocalyptic alarmism? I personally don’t think we can use historic models to predict even our immediate future; this is an unparalleled period in human development simply because of population density, mobility, and rapid information exchange that just makes things less predictable across the board. So why do people ranging from a respected scientist like Frank Fenner, who says the human race will be extinct in 100 years to collapsitarians like Ruppert, to borderline nutjob survivalists like the American Preppers Network all think we’re doomed? If you don’t feel like taking the plunge, at least skim The Psychology of Apocalypticism, a lengthy exploration of the topic from a “psychohistoric” point of view. It mostly frames the topic in terms of how religion has shaped our culture, but doesn’t explore two psychological angles I think are pertinent when exploring the “psychology of the apocalypse”. One being the simple anxiety aroused by realizing we may have to change our way of life, and the other being an unconcious collective guilt for how good we’ve had it in the west while so many around the world suffer. And let’s not forget that according to Oxfam, natural disasters actually have increased six-fold since 1980. Oh crap. Maybe the end IS near.

The movie Collapse is interesting, but it’s possible that Michael Ruppert is just a pessimist…

Can this man predict when your world will crumble? Probably not.