Mental
Why Our Smartest Systems Are Driving Us Toward Collapse
We're caught in systems that reward short-term optimization over long-term flourishing. A company that pollutes gains competitive advantage. A politician who lies gets more votes. An app that hijacks attention generates more revenue. The problem isn't that people are evil - it's that rational actors following incentives create irrational outcomes.
Civilization collapses when incentives outrun wisdom.— Daniel Schmachtenberger
The full breakdown — the context, the shift, and a question to sit with — opens in the Insights app.
The thinker
Systems theorist and philosopher
Daniel Schmachtenberger is a social philosopher focused on existential risk and civilization design, exploring how we can navigate complex global challenges through better collective sensemaking.
Part of these journeys
Read the full idea in InsightsFree on iPhone · Download Insights