End of the Familiar
The Meta/Polycrisis Reframed as New Beginnings
The End of the Familiar (2020-2030) isn’t crisis or collapse—it's metamorphosis. When a butterfly emerges, the caterpillar doesn’t experience catastrophe; it undergoes transformation. What appears as breakdown in our economic, social, and ecological systems is actually breakthrough—the necessary dissolution of structures that have reached their evolutionary limits.
Unlike metacrisis or polycrisis which focus on what’s dying, End of the Familiar acknowledges that disorientation is a prerequisite for emergence. It’s the space between stories where old certainties dissolve and new possibilities crystallize.
The systems we’ve known—extractive economies, hierarchical governance, separation-based identity—aren’t simply failing; they’re creating the nutrient-rich conditions from which more coherent, regenerative, and connected systems can emerge.
The End of the Familiar isn't something to fear or resist—it’s the evolutionary invitation we’ve been waiting for. Instead of asking “How do we survive this?”, the Evolutionary Agent asks “What are we becoming?”
References
https://www.civilizationresearchinstitute.org/the-metacrisis
Deep dive: https://bit.ly/MetaPoly
This entry is part of our Evolutionary Agents Glossary.