The Metacrisis Introduction Project
Metacrisis.info is a collaborative project led by Life Itself Research and a small group of researchers. It is part of the broader Second Renaissance initiative and its conceptual model. Our aim is to enable people to see the metacrisis behind the surface crises: ecological, existential and political.
This site exists to provide a simple, grounded introduction to the concept of metacrisis and to show how it helps make sense of the unprecedented challenges now unfolding across ecological, technological, economic, and geopolitical systems. Many people encounter “polycrisis” or other framings. Our view is that metacrisis offers a clear, accessible way of understanding not only what is happening but why.
Our motivation is practical. When people can recognise the underlying patterns that link climate breakdown, AI risk, institutional fragility, and social fragmentation, they are better equipped to imagine—and build—more life-giving alternatives. The metacrisis framework helps orient that work. It provides a way to read the moment as a whole rather than as a series of disconnected emergencies, and to locate opportunities for intervention that are proportionate to the scale of the challenge.
Metacrisis.info offers three levels of entry. For newcomers, a short, clear definition provides a one-minute grasp of the idea. Those wanting more context can explore concise overviews of how the concept relates to polycrisis, to the cultural paradigm of modernity, and to the crises now shaping our world. And for readers seeking depth, the accompanying paper lays out the foundations of metacrisis theory in a structured and approachable way.
This project is just beginning. We hope to expand the site with further guides, diagrams, interviews, and educational materials. Our intention is to make this a living resource for anyone wanting to understand our historical moment and to contribute to a "renaissance" and the emergence of a wiser civilisation. We welcome collaborators, researchers, and practitioners who feel called to this work.