Planetary Civilization

Global System

Welcome to the planetary phase of civilization. We are in the midst of a transformation with implications no less profound than earlier “great transitions” to settled agriculture and industrial society. The world is growing more connected, binding people and planet ever more tightly into one global system with one destiny. The long tentacles of commerce, communication, and culture are weaving nations and regions into a single planetary fabric. Humanity is trampling nature in boots that have grown to the size of the earth itself, compromising the capacity of the ecosphere to support life. A world stage is forming as a critical arena for crises, contending forms of consciousness and political engagement. The planetary phase is transforming both the earth and its inhabitants.