The Dawn of the Polycrisis Era

Rethinking Leadership for an Era of Complexity

We are witnessing a profound crisis of authority. Not a single event, but an unraveling that signals the beginning of what many are calling the polycrisis era—a convergence of overlapping, interconnected crises that expose the fragility of our systems and the inadequacy of our leaders. The obvious face of this is climate change, but it is not the only symptom. The polycrisis extends across economic, social, and geopolitical domains. We are seeing the failure of ideology and the failure of vision, leaving a vacuum where the public desperately needs direction.

This moment demands radical imagination, yet we’re facing an absolute collapse in meaningful vision. Our traditional ideologies, with their outdated promises and rigid orthodoxies, simply cannot cope with the complex challenges that emerge when crises multiply and reinforce one another. Climate change is emblematic of this — it’s not just an environmental issue; it’s a systemic challenge that influences migration, economics, food security, and political stability. No ideology built for the 20th century—whether capitalist, socialist, nationalist, or otherwise—has offered a coherent response. Instead, we see a retreat into lies and nostalgia, a simplification of the world that can no longer hold.

When ideologies crumble, vision should step in. Visionaries should be providing new paths forward. Yet instead, we see a total lack of ambition from those in power. Elections are won not on the basis of innovative solutions or inspiring possibilities but on a mythology of past greatness. The failure of vision has made nostalgia the most powerful political currency. Leaders promise a return to the comfort of a simpler time—a time when jobs were stable, national identities were clear, and the future seemed more certain. These promises are, of course, illusions. Yet, in the face of uncertainty, they are compelling, and the lies that sustain them are effective. This isn’t just a political problem; it’s a societal one. The crisis of authority is not just the failure of leaders, but a failure of our collective imagination.

As the polycrisis intensifies, authority must be reimagined. We cannot continue to trust the same institutions and figures that brought us to this brink. The authority of the future must be distributed, adaptive, and deeply rooted in empathy, collaboration, and care. Authority must emerge from empathy, collaboration, and a willingness to admit past mistakes. Authority must emerge from the grassroots, embracing the multiplicity of experiences and expertise that exist across the globe, rather than imposing outdated ideologies from above.

The current symptoms—the election of leaders who sell nostalgia, the rise of conspiracy theories, and the widespread distrust of expertise—are all evidence of a vacuum of authority. This vacuum will not be filled by more of the same. We need new stories, new ideologies, and new visions that acknowledge the interconnected nature of our crises and embrace the complexity of our era. We need a future of authority that empowers rather than dictates, that fosters resilience rather than false certainty.

The question is, can we imagine such a future? Can we foster authority that is credible, empathetic, and capable of guiding us through the interconnected challenges we face? Or will we succumb to the illusions of the past, peddled by those who benefit from our stagnation?