Permanent social collapse is a potential existential risk that has been relatively neglected. Are there “natural” limits to the stability of civilizations and other complex social organizations? What actions can change these limits?

What can civilizations achieve when they solve the engineering problems associated with space settlement? What are the limits of what can be achieved, given known physics? How far away are we from important limits, and how do they impact near-term strategy and eventual value achieved?

The climate crisis is one of the most crucial challenges for present and future generations, but it is also part of an ensemble of systemic challenges to civilizational and planetary boundaries that pose a considerable risk to human civilization.