Wicked Problems: What can we do in this Time of Collapse?

Christian Sarkar and Philip Kotler explore why the world's most urgent problems remain unsolved, emphasizing their interconnected and self-perpetuating nature. They argue that traditional problem-solving methods fail against "wicked problems"—complex, systemic issues with no definitive solutions - not so much because they can't be solved, but rather because the existing power structure doesn't want to solve them.

Systemic Failure, Not Broken Systems: Political and economic systems are not failing by accident but are functioning as designed, often preventing solutions to major crises.

Cumulative Causation: Problems reinforce each other in degenerative cycles (Myrdal’s theory), making solutions difficult if not impossible.

The Need for a Shift in Thinking: Moving from reactive to proactive mindsets (Scharmer & Kaufer) is crucial for addressing these challenges.

The Ecosystem of Wicked Problems: Problems don’t exist in isolation; they are interconnected, requiring holistic approaches - these problems must be tackled simultaneously.

The book categorizes the world’s worst wicked problems as "Crazy-Wicked Problems"—those that, if unsolved, threaten human survival.

The authors also identified seven overarching problem categories (the Wicked 7) by mapping 162 global issues, focusing on power and corruption as the root cause of systemic failure. They argue that solving these requires systemic, regenerative transformation rather than fragmented, symptom-based interventions.

Along the way, we were introduced to ClimateGPT – a social intelligence interwoven with AI technology, to decode the complexities of our time. Each chapter has a contribution from this planetary scale AI.

Ultimately, Wicked Problems calls for a new way of regenerative strategy across all dimensions of human existence—one that acknowledges interconnections and prioritizes solutions that address root causes rather than surface-level symptoms.