When Societies Collapse: Energy, Ideology, and Violence

The story of how empires, kingdoms, and societies rise and fall is a story of energy. Most theories of collapse, from inequality and elite competition through to environmental degradation, hinge on how a society uses energy, especially for conspicuous consumption. Energy, ideology, and violence are not just instrumental in explaining how societies form and collapse, but also in understanding the existential risk we face today. This talk will draw from the forthcoming book Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse.

Speaker: Dr. Luke Kemp researches the history and future of extreme global risk. He is a Research Affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge, and a Visiting Fellow with the Cascade Institute. He has advised and led foresight studies for multiple international institutions, including the WHO and Convention on Biological Diversity. His work has been covered by media outlets such as the BBC, The New York Times, and The New Yorker.  His first book, Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse, will be published with Penguin in July 2025.