Global Collapse in Progress - January 2010

In 2009, world leaders put together a concerted effort to forestall economic catastrophe. They took the problems created by excessive consumption and overspending, and attempted to make them magically disappear through overspending and encouraging even more consumption. As the New Year begins, the bill comes due. The party’s over.

The global context changes drastically along with the turn of the calendar. There are clues to what causality we may assign to this, but it’s always difficult to name a context that has not yet been seen. Right around the New Year weekend, geopolitical issues rise significantly, the U.S. government appears weak or vulnerable, and the global system is perceived as breaking down. As the first week of the year begins, economic concerns rise sharply and U.S. government activity level rises. However, before connecting these dots prematurely, there are more clues to examine.

In the first week of the year and into the second, there is an elevated risk of extreme natural event(s) occurring. There are also global themes of national identity and isolationism. This would be the period with the highest likelihood for the Mayon volcano in the Philippines to erupt, or any of a number of related consequences. It would also be a time that Iran would be most likely to seriously flirt with regime change once again, which in turn could create havoc with the world’s energy supplies.

Overall, there is a global shift in mood from optimism that some sort of economic recovery is on the horizon, to one of extreme seriousness, helplessness, and apathy. Perhaps January is our introduction to the next decade. This next ten years should see an increase in scarcity, hoarding, and even wars over basic resources; and natural disasters on a scale we have never seen. The changes in our world will cause us to examine our values, and our lifestyles will surely change. January 2010 is likely only the beginning of a long and painful collapse of the world as we have known it. Welcome to 2010.
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The preceding was an excerpt from the January 2010 issue of MoodCompass. (current issue viewable by research sponsors only; reprinted with permission of A New Story Foundation)