System Change Made Simple
A phrase often used at climate actions is ‘system change not climate change’. This podcast explores that idea. What kind of system are we living with now? How do systems of exploitation come about? What options for a new system make sense? How could we make system change happen? Join me as I explore these questions. Get excited as we work out how we might make a fresh start. It could be a good idea to start with the first of these podcasts 'Capitalism: A Ghost Story' from July 4th 2022 and go on from there.
System Change Made Simple
My take on the human condition, evolution and human nature.
Unpacking Schmachtenberger again.
Terry Leahy 2025.
This text and podcast provides an alternative world history to that being promoted by podcasters such as Daniel Schmachtenberger. Their theory is heavily based in sociobiology. Here, I will not go into every detail of Schmachtenberger’s approach. I will outline a different theory that fits the facts better.
In this podcast I want to ‘give the devil his due’. There are certainly important events in human history that seem to fit Schmachtenberger’s sociobiological take. I want to look at these. In each case, what we are talking about is a pulse, an expansion of the human population. In an obvious way, each of these is associated with an expansion of production. More people need more food.
Where I disagree with Schmachtenberger is that I do not see these events as expressions of the supposed ‘human nature’ that he is talking about. A constant drive to expand population, to expand the production of calories, to expand a surplus — in competition with other human groups. As I have said already and will say again here, the vast bulk of human history does not show anything like this going on.