A 2-minute read that might change how you see everything
It's not climate change. It's not AI. It's not any single crisis. It's why we can't solve any of them.
They look like different problems.
They're not.
Every major crisis is the same problem wearing different masks:
We can't cooperate as fast as we can create.
(In simple words: We build faster than we can agree.)
We're caught in coordination traps — situations where individual logic leads to collective disaster. But once you see the trap, you can escape it.
Every nation wants a clean planet. But each fears being the only one to sacrifice while others keep polluting.
Every AI lab wants safety. But each fears falling behind if they slow down while competitors race ahead.
Everyone wants sustainable oceans. But each fisher catches more before others do — depleting what they all need.
These traps have known solutions.
The challenge is implementing them at global scale.
Coordination is a skill. And we're getting better at it.
Was dying from CFCs. In 1987, every nation agreed to fix it. It's healing now — will fully recover by 2050.
Montreal Protocol, 1987Killed 300 million in the 20th century. We eliminated it forever through coordinated global vaccination.
Declared eradicated, 1980Centuries of devastating wars. Since 1945, the longest peace in European history — built through integration.
75+ years of peaceSolar is now the cheapest energy in history. EVs are crossing the adoption threshold. The economics have flipped.
Accelerating since 2020When we create the right structures, coordination happens. The question is: can we do it fast enough?
Technology isn't just the problem — it's also part of the solution.
AI helps thousands of people discuss and find consensus simultaneously.
Taiwan's vTaiwan found hidden agreement on Uber regulationNew mechanisms let communities fund public goods fairly — small voices amplified.
Gitcoin has distributed $50M+ for open source projectsRandom citizens deliberating on complex issues — no partisan capture.
Ireland used this for abortion and marriage referendumsAggregate knowledge from many minds to forecast and decide better.
Metaculus outperforms expert panels on many questionsThe coordination gap is closing.
You don't have to "save the world." You can help bend the direction we're heading.
You just did. Now you'll see it everywhere — and understanding is the first step to solving.
Common knowledge of the problem is part of the solution. When enough people see it, change accelerates.
Millions are already working on this. Find your way in — through climate action, AI safety, democracy reform, or local community.