Moving from climate and consumption to polycrisis. Apologies, it is a long one. This note has been informed by discussions with colleagues from the Accelerator for Systemic Risk Assessment (ASRA), my thanks to them. Previous notes: one, two, three, four, five, six. Reckoning with ‘the trap the world has become’, attempting to orientate thought, doing so by thinking through and with China.

Staying with China as a ‘manufacturing superpower’, thinking through what it means for energy and consumption. A few more to go, thanks for your patience. Previous notes in the series: one, two, three, four, five. Two images from my recent trip that capture the contradictions and complexities of the contemporary in China: Sitting in traffic in rural Sichuan.

Zooming in and zooming out, continuing to think through and with China. This note moves to the macro, considering consumption and production, and the offer of an international order based on ordering. More charts and less literary references ahead. Previous notes in the series: one, two, three, four. In terms of our troubles with comprehending the contemporary, one of the big challenges is the combination of speed and scale.

The intent of this series is thinking through and with China, meant in an essayistic sense. As such, it is not just about the country, but also the observations emerging from the experience of being there.

This note continues the ‘to orient’ series, prompted by a recent visit to China. The plan is for this ‘batch’ to be published relatively quickly, and with that done, return to a slower publication schedule.

The aim of this series is thinking through and thinking with China. One of the references for ‘to orient’ is Edward Said, and while these notes likely fail to meet his exacting standards, hopefully the intent and core ideas might. The aim - the need - is to recognise and reckon with China, in all its complexity and detail.

Faced with contagion, confrontation, conflict, how to avoid disorientation? And if that can be managed, how can we actively and positively orientate ourselves? A starting assumption here is that there are better and worse ways to orientate, and we should aim for better ones.

The political and financial might of the United States, combined with the centrality of its tech platforms and English as the lingua franca, ensures voices from that one country tend to occupy an outsized role in discourse and thinking. Certainly, what happens there is deeply consequential for the world, and so it is important, it does matter.

A new missive has appeared from the ever-prolific , this time about Antonio Gramsci’s much quoted ‘interregnum’:ChartbookChartbook 298 Built not Born - against "interregnum"-talk (Hegemony Notes #2) "The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born;

Zooming in and zooming out, moving from the micro to the meso and the macro. From the most basic of daily interactions, through to the relationships and institutions in which we work and participate, all the way up to the highest levels of international politics and global power, remarkably consistent patterns and dynamics are found. Similar shapes, similar uneven edges and jagged lines. Social entropy is fractal.

Karl Barth, ‘The problem of ethics today’: - Hannah Arendt, ‘Introduction into Politics’: - Bertolt Brecht, ‘And in your country?’: - Theodor Adorno, Problems of Moral Philosophy : - Eugenio Montale, ‘Cuttlefish bones’: - Paul Valéry, History and Politics: