##### Understanding Hierarchies, Luke Kemp's Work, and the Influence of [[James C. Scott]] To understand Luke Kemp's research on civilizational collapse, one must first appreciate the critical perspective on hierarchies provided by the influential political anthropologist [[James C. Scott]]. Scott's work is a foundational inspiration for Kemp, providing a lens through which to analyze the fragility of complex societies. James C. Scott's View on Hierarchies and the State Scott, particularly in books like [[Seeing Like a State]] and The Art of Not Being Governed, argues that: · States are [[hierarchical]] projects of simplification: They create order by standardizing measures, languages, land tenure, and people to make [[Society]] legible, taxable, and controllable. · This process creates fragility: In imposing rigid, simplified systems (like monoculture [[Agriculture]] or planned cities), states often strip away the local knowledge, diversity, and adaptability that make communities resilient. · Hierarchies are not inevitable: Scott highlights "non-state" spaces where societies have consciously chosen less hierarchical, more [[egalitarian]] forms of organization to avoid state domination and extraction. Scott’s central thesis is that the very tools states use to create and maintain complex hierarchies often sow the seeds of their own failure, especially when they ignore the nuanced reality on the ground. Luke Kemp's Work: Applying Scott's Lens to Collapse Luke Kemp, a research associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge, directly applies and extends this critical view of hierarchies to the study of civilizational collapse. His work focuses on why complex societies break down, and he uses data-driven historical analysis to identify the recurring patterns. Key Similarities and Inspirations from Scott: 1. Hierarchies as Sources of Systemic Fragility: · Scott: showed how state-imposed order creates brittle systems vulnerable to collapse when faced with unexpected shocks. · Kemp: uses this same logic, identifying rigid, extractive hierarchies as a primary driver of collapse. He argues that elites at the top, in their quest to maintain power and extract resources, create systems that are inherently unstable and unjust. 2. The Problem of Elite Short-Termism and Extraction: · Scott: detailed how state projects often serve the interests of elites at the expense of the population, leading to rebellion, resistance, and a breakdown of cooperation. · Kemp: identifies "elite self-interest and short-termism" as a core risk factor. His research on "elite overproduction" (too many players fighting for a limited number of top spots) echoes Scott's observations on intra-elite competition and its destabilizing effects. Elites resist necessary reforms for long-term survival if it threatens their immediate [[Status]]. 3. The Critical Role of Ecological Management: · Scott: uses examples like Soviet collectivization to show how hierarchical, simplified agricultural systems led to famine and ecological disaster. · Kemp: places ecological strain at the heart of his collapse models. He demonstrates that historical collapses almost always coincide with [[Ecology|environmental]] catastrophe, but emphasizes that it's the [[Society]]'s hierarchical structure—and its inability to respond adaptively—that turns a crisis into a collapse. 4. Collapse as Simplification (Not Apocalypse): · Scott: might view collapse not just as a disaster, but also as a potential escape from a oppressive hierarchical structure—a return to a less complex, more manageable scale. · Kemp: defines collapse in a similarly neutral way: as a "rapid and enduring loss of population, identity, and socio-economic complexity." It is a process of simplification, which can be catastrophic for the population involved but is not necessarily the "end of the world." Kemp's Modern Application Where Kemp builds beyond Scott is in his futurist application. He uses this historical model, inspired by Scott's theories, to diagnose risks in our current global industrial civilization. He argues we are replicating the classic pre-collapse pattern: · Extreme economic inequality (a steep, extractive hierarchy). · Intense political polarization (elite competition and a breakdown of cooperation). · Severe ecological strain (climate change, resource depletion) managed by short-termist institutions. Summary: The Intellectual Lineage Luke Kemp's work is powerfully informed by James C. Scott's critical analysis of statecraft and hierarchy. He takes Scott's ideas about how states create fragile systems through simplification and extraction and applies them on a macro-historical scale to the phenomenon of civilizational collapse. ![[IMG_LukeKemp.jpeg]] [YouTube video - Goliath's Curse: Climate, Inequality, and Societal Collapse | Luke Kemp](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1le5Sj7Qp4) In essence, Kemp uses Scott's lens to argue that our civilisation's deeply hierarchical structure is actively making us more vulnerable to collapse. The path to resilience, therefore, lies in building more adaptive, equitable, and less rigidly hierarchical systems—a conclusion that sits firmly within the intellectual tradition Scott pioneered. `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:`