Looking at both the long-run trajectory of Goliath and current trends, our Global Goliath appears destined to hurtle down one of three paths. The first, and most likely, is self-termination. The second is a world in chains. The third is a world in which we somehow manage to shackle and control it. Reversing inequality and establishing deep democracy in a lasting fashion has unfortunately been a rarity throughout history. It is a highly unlikely outcome, which makes it worth fighting for even more desperately. While throughout history the collapse of a Goliath was usually temporary and a liberation, in the future it threatens to be permanent and take us and much of the planet with it. We are passengers on a journey that looks likely to end in chains or evolutionary suicide. Our Global Goliath will die explosively unless we kill it first.

Excerpt from Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse by Luke Kemp, published by Penguin Random House, New York, USA, 2025, p. 406.  

Synopsis from book jacket – Goliath’s Curse is a vast and unprecedented survey of societal collapse—stretching from the Stone Age to the age of silicon—that digs through the ruins of fallen societies to understand the root causes of their downfall and the most dire consequences for our future.

GLOSSARY OF SELECTED TERMS USED IN BOOK

Authoritarian impulse – The psychological tendency for individuals to be more accepting and supporting of authoritarian structures and leaders when faced with a threat to their safety and security.

Civilization – A social structure characterized mainly by non-hierarchical, democratic cooperation.

Collapse – The relatively rapid contraction and fragmentation of different power systems. This results in large-scale losses in hierarchy, population density, and energy capture.

Democracy – A spectrum of (more or less) equal and inclusive political practices. Democracies can be hierarchical (ancient Athens for adult males) or non-hierarchical (egalitarian forages such as the Hadza).

Dominance hierarchy – A social-ranking system in which one group or individual is placed above others owing to their ability to impose penalties, including violence.

Evolutionary suicide – Short-term evolutionary pressures lock the population into a path of self-destruction. Short-term adaptation leads to long-term extinction.

Global Goliath – A collection of interconnected hierarchies across the entire world in which some individuals dominate others to control energy and labor. In our modern world this includes hierarchies such as the state, patriarchy, rich and poor (based on a capitalist global economy), and myths about the need for hierarchy.

Goliath – A collection of interconnected hierarchies in which some individuals dominate others to control energy and labor.

Goliath fuel – Ecological and technological conditions that allow for the establishment of a Goliath. These include lootable resources, monopolizable weapons, and caged land.

Lootable resources – Resources that can easily be seen, stolen, and stored. A form of Goliath fuel.

Stories of subjugation – Myths, ideologies, and religions that justify the domination of the many by the few.

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Luke Kemp is a senior research associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge (UK). He has lectured in the fields of economics and human geography, and has advised the World Health Organization, the Australian Parliament, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and many other institutions. His research has been covered by media outlets such as The New York Times, the BBC, and The New Yorker.