Global narcissistic collapse
A metaphorical lens on humanity's ecological crisis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4189136 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rost (0000-0001-8160-7901, University of Gothenburg, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 290-301 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Anthropocene Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2053-0196 • E-ISSN: 2053-020X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/20530196251339471 |
| OpenAlex | W4410264662 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 46 |
Climate change is driving rising global temperatures, ecological degradation, and widespread human suffering. Yet, as a collective, humanity has failed to implement sufficient changes to mitigate these threats. This paper introduces the concept of "global narcissism" as a speculative lens to analyze the psychological barriers to climate action. By examining different levels of narcissism and their manifestations in human responses to climate change, this framework highlights key obstacles to meaningful action. While humanity is diverse, and lived experiences vary greatly, this perspective offers a way to discuss patterns of response and resistance. A central challenge lies in humanity's difficulty in recognizing its symbiotic relationship with the non-human world. Through the metaphor of "global narcissism" this paper explores how humanity's response to ecological crisis mirrors narcissistic defense mechanisms and suggests a collapse is taking place. This framework provides insights into how psychological interventions at various levels, could encourage a shift toward a more humble and integrated relationship with the natural world
Action (physics · Climate change · Environmental ethics · Humanity · Metaphor · Narcissism · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Sociology · Computer Science · Law · Leadership, Courage, and Heroism Studies · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Philosophy · Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research · Psychology · Social Psychology · Ecology
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The Narcissism Spectrum Model
Questioning economic growth
Narcissism Today
Collective Narcissism and Its Social Consequences
Eco-anxiety
Kincentric Ecology
Nationalism as collective narcissism
Controversies in Narcissism
From apathy through anxiety to action
When the sun goes down
The role of collective narcissism in populist attitudes and the collapse of democracy in Hungary
Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change
Communal collective narcissism
Environmental governance under Bolsonaro
Coal, climate and change
AnthropoTrumpism
Case Study Methodology of Qualitative Research
The Arctic
The Trump presidency, climate change, and the prospect of a disorderly energy transition
Communicating Climate Change
Collective Narcissism and the 2016 US Presidential Vote
Trade shocks and the nationalist backlash in political attitudes
Amazonian destruction, Bolsonaro and Covid-19
The Anti-Social Triad of Grievance Politics
Environmental crisis, narcissism and the work of grief
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |