This 32 minute animation - in 4 Acts - describes the backdrop for The Great Simplification - an economic/cultural transition beginning in the not-too-distant future.

Part 1 describes how our species got to this point, and the role of energy in our economies

Part 2 gives an overview of the relationship between energy, technology, money and the environment and how global human society is (currently) akin to a metabolic heat engine

Part 3 gives an overview of individual (and aggregate) human behavior tendencies in a novel modern environment and why these dynamics are relevant to our current challenges

Part 4 describes how people look at the future wearing different popular lenses, but when wearing a 'systems' lens, it becomes clear that a Great Simplification is soon approaching.

There are show notes are available at thegreatsimplification.com