Can enough of us trigger a course change to prevent ‘ecological collapse’?
Welcome to the manifesto website of an initiative that aims to swiftly answer the question above.
If it is possible for enough of us to get on the same page and trigger such change, then it’s time to team up and get the job done.
While this manifesto is relevant to everyone, its content is targeted at those already passionate about sustainability, regeneration, and economic transformation.
The manifesto is partially uploaded.
While this web page contains a full introduction to the Same Page Manifesto, some of the other five main web pages are still being completed. None of these pages will be finalised until all are complete.
| Manifesto web page | Status |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Complete (this page) |
| Challenges | Nutshell summary only |
| Approach | Nutshell summary only |
| Plan | Partially complete |
| Play you part | Partially complete |
| Supporting voices | Complete |
The content of each web page is described in the What you’ll find in the rest of the manifesto section at the bottom of this page.
The manifesto was last updated on: 2 February 2026
Introduction sections:
- It’s time for us to change course
- It’s the global economic system that we most need to change
- As a focused, confident team, we can change all our global systems
- You can help to trigger the course change we all need
- What you’ll find in the rest of the manifesto
1. It’s time for us to change course
As most of us are already aware, and the graphic below illustrates, we have reached an existential fork in the road of human civilisation.
The Anthropocene Reality and Planetary Solvency from Planetary Solvency — finding our balance with nature, a report by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and the University of Exeter (January 16, 2025)
This is our plight, and it’s of our own making. The Anthropocene Epoch describes the (current) period ‘when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems’1.
Experts in assessing risk are sounding the alarm: if our planet-impacting species wants a ‘solvent’ future, then we must urgently change our behaviour.
2. It’s the global economic system that we most need to change
In May 2024, one of the world’s largest and most influential companies, EY, published a report that identifies the upstream cause of our plight.
Marked by increasing signs of ecological breakdown, deepening social inequality and rising geopolitical tensions, we find ourselves in the midst of a polycrisis. These causally entangled crises are the result of similarly interconnected structural flaws in the global economic system … Without urgent, large-scale transformation, it’s not a matter of if, but when, we’ll reach the point of ecological collapse.
A new economy: Exploring the root causes of the polycrisis and the principles to unlock a sustainable future, New Economy Unit, EY (May 2024)
So, what is it about today’s global economic system that society needs to transform if we are to prevent ‘ecological collapse’?
Here’s EY’s list of the ‘interconnected structural flaws’ driving today’s ‘polycrisis economy’, compared to the guiding principles of the ‘new economy’ we need to quickly transition to.2
| From ‘polycrisis economy’ flaws | To ‘new economy’ principles |
|---|---|
| unsustainable growth and overconsumption | sufficiency |
| linear economy | circularity |
| financial capital myopia and short-termism | value redefined |
| siloed thinking | systems thinking |
| inequality and injustice | equality and justice |
The system’s root flaw appears to be its pursuit of unsustainable growth (that is, perpetual economic growth), which is one mechanism for achieving the social wellbeing we need to thrive, rather than directly pursuing social wellbeing (and, indeed, the ecological wellbeing we need to survive).
This flawed — circuitous, inefficient, and increasingly confusing — pursuit drives or perpetuates all the other flaws EY lists.
As ‘Doughnut’ economist Kate Raworth eloquently summarises:
Today we have economies that need to grow, whether or not they make us thrive; what we need are economies that make us thrive, whether or not they grow.
Kate Raworth, Doughnut Economics (2017)
But let’s pause a moment to reflect on the key elements of the system we call ‘the economy’ because, as we have found, it is tremendously difficult to transform something most of us are unable to describe or explain.
In a nutshell:
- ‘The economy’ is a complex system that has evolved from relatively simple trade (or bartering) systems.
- The system’s paramount goal is the perpetual growth of economic activity (‘business’) to continuously produce financial wealth.
- However, financial wealth is not the only kind of wealth.
- To survive, humans need ecological wealth (ultimately, a healthy, life-supporting planet), given we are a biological species that needs food, water, and a liveable climate.
- To thrive — that is, to enhance our ‘quality of life’ — humans need social wealth (safe, healthy societies), given we are a social species.
- Thus, humans cannot survive or thrive through the possession of financial wealth alone, whatever its form or quantity.
- Our base (capitalist) economic system as designed some 250 years ago (think Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations) was intended to enhance social wellbeing through the generation of financial wealth that would trickle down from the wealthy to the poor.
- Thus, growing social wealth was early capitalism’s ultimate goal.
- Growing ecological wealth was not a goal of early capitalism because the 18th-century (and earlier) Western view deemed nature to be an inexhaustible supplier of economic resources.
- However, even within the Western tradition, we have known for more than 50 years that there are limits to economic growth, because there are limits to:
- the quantity of natural resources we can extract
- the resilience of the many life-supporting eco-systems (like the climate, fresh water, clean air) that our linear ‘take-make-waste’ actions incessantly degrade
Every day of continued exponential [economic] growth brings the world system closer to the ultimate limits of that growth. A decision to do nothing is a decision to increase the risk of collapse.
Meadows, et al, Limits to Growth (1972)
Thus, if our societies are capable of shifting their paramount goal and priority from the convoluted mechanism of financial wealth to the simpler necessities of ecological wealth and social wealth (served by financial wealth, as needed), then enough of us need to trigger this shift now.
The clock is ticking because economies that were meant to enhance social wellbeing — and, in so many ways, have enhanced social wellbeing — are ultimately destroying our ability to live well, or to live at all.
A system based on perpetual growth rather than optimality was always going to deliver us to existential fork in the road of human civilisation, because perpetual growth is cancer and, left untreated, cancer destroys its host.
Current economic theory fails to differentiate healthy development from cancerous growth.
Bernard Lietaer, et al, Is Our Monetary Structure a Systemic Cause for Financial Instability? Evidence and Remedies from Nature (Journal of Futures Studies, 2010, Vol.14(3), 89-108)
The good news is that seeking ‘cancerous growth’ is a historical system flaw, not an immutable law.
If we choose to, we can amend the goal of our global economic system and, thus, change the path of our future.
But how?
Could it be as simple as a group of us teaming up to confidently end mainstream support for harm-causing business, whilst bolstering mainstream support for the healthy growth of business that enhances social and ecological wealth?
3. As a focused, confident team, we can change any global system
My name is Simon Hertnon and I have observed:
- Addressing our plight is humanity’s most important task because human life is dependent on Earth’s ecological health.
- The upstream cause of our plight is the flawed global economic system because it drives the societal behaviours (our combined actions) that directly cause ecological harm.
- Amidst a storm of challenges created and fuelled by the flawed global economic system, our key challenge is to overcome the pervasive busyness that keeps us too dazed, distracted, and divided to collectively see, understand, or respond to our plight.
I have also reasoned:
- We can overcome our debilitating busyness through a simplicity approach that enables us to identify the simplest and fewest actions for addressing our plight.
- We can respond to our plight through a simple plan in which we perform just three key tasks to bring about a course change.
- First, we empower our response by teaming up globally
- Next, we end our support for harm-causing business by exercising our team’s unmatched vocal, consumer, and electoral power
- Last, we redesign our economic-growth-addicted societal systems in one 10-year global program
- We can expedite the progress of our response through coordinated global collaborations.
Five mass actions
Acknowledging that changing course requires a movement powered by mass participation, here are five mass actions (A1 to A5) that can empower, start, and complete an expedient course change.
| Action | Purpose |
|---|---|
| A1 Team up | First, we equip our movement with the power of numbers. |
| A2 Notify businesses and politicians | Second, using our millions-strong vocal power, we invite businesses and politicians to proactively join us in boycotting and prohibiting harm-causing business. |
| A3 Boycott harm-causing business | Third, using our millions-strong consumer power, stop supporting businesses that do not or cannot convince us their activities do not cause systemic harm. |
| A4 Prohibit harm-causing business | Fourth (and simultaneously), using our millions-strong electoral power, we withhold support for politicians who fail to assure us they will prohibit harm-causing business. |
| A5 Redirect societal systems | Fifth (and simultaneously), using our millions-strong wisdom and design capabilities, we amend the goals, rules, and structures of our societal systems so they enable and support the optimal future we seek. |
Each action will soon be fully outlined on the Plan page, but here’s a brief introduction to paint a picture.
| A1 Team up |
| Purpose To empower changing course through mass participation. Method By convening a massive global community of course-change supporters. Summary Given sustainability’s shift ‘from margins to mainstream’3, right now enough of us could team up (as Team Humanity, or similar) to gain the power of numbers and cohesion. Through the accessibility and enablement provided by an online hub, team members can be from any country. |
| A2 Notify businesses and politicians |
| Purpose To start changing course by concertedly encouraging all businesses and politicians to proactively participate in the movement. Method By widely publicising our team’s determination* to end support for harm-causing business; and by clearly communicating to businesses and politicians the practical actions they can take to join and support our popular movement. Summary Focussing on the world’s wealthiest democracies, our team could then give notice to every business and politician that our custom and votes will only go to those whose actions support our collective rejection of harm-causing business, and to compellingly invite them to ‘get ahead of the curve’. |
* Backed by global surveys like the Earth for All Survey 2024 and the Global Commons Survey 2024 (both conducted by IPSOS) that show majority support in wealthy democracies for transforming the purpose of the global economic system.4
| A3 Boycott harm-causing business |
| Purpose To strengthen changing course without first needing to change ‘the system’. Method Through a global consumer movement of mass commercial boycotts powered by a simple prove-you’re-worthy-of-our-custom consumer awareness program. Summary Next, our team could exercise its transformative power of combined social permissions to: – multiply support for helpful business that enhances social and ecological wealth – continue support for harmless business – end support for harm-causing business |
| A4 Prohibit harm-causing business |
| Purpose To solidify the course change through the simplest possible legal prohibition of harm-causing business. Method By providing one legal clause (prohibiting ‘any activity that results in systemic ecological, social, or intergenerational harm’, or similar) that political candidates must promise to add to the director’s responsibilities of their jurisdiction’s corporate law. Summary During the 2026–2030 global cycle of democratic elections, our team could also exercise its transformative power of combined political choices to support only candidates who commit to prohibiting harm-causing business. |
| A5 Redirect societal systems |
| Purpose To mature changing course by intentionally revising the goals of our contorted societal systems which, today, all serve the collapse-inducing pursuit of economic growth. Method Through a citizen-led global program of pragmatic system-redesign collaborations that are engagingly joined-up, respectful, transparent, and efficient. Summary By 2035, our team could complete an essential redesign of our intertwined, globally-linked societal systems (trade, justice, health, education, etc) to end their habitual subservience to the critically-flawed economic system. Coordinated system transformations will reset each system’s goal so that, as a set, they harmoniously and sustainably achieve the overarching purpose of delivering optimal social and ecological wellbeing within the constraints of Earth’s systems (land, air, water, life) and resources. |
These mass actions could be termed the Supporter Actions, given they will be performed by supporters of a course change.
Seven expediting collaborations
To assist the general public to accomplish the Supporter Actions, those already working towards environmental and social betterment could also team up through seven expediting collaborations.
| Collaboration | Purpose |
|---|---|
| C1 Mobilise Team Humanity | To expedite teaming up (A1) |
| C2 Multiply active citizenship | To expedite notifying businesses and politicians (A2) |
| C3 Reinvigorate social permissions | To expedite boycotting harm-causing business (A3) |
| C4 Simplify legal protections | To expedite prohibiting harm-causing business (A4) |
| C5 Streamline system transformation | To expedite redirecting societal systems (A5) |
| CR Renew humanity’s wisdom5 | To inform all five mass actions |
| CP Promote helpful information | To support all five mass actions |
These seven collaborations could be termed the Expediter Collaborations, given they will be performed by individuals and organisations whose work expedites the Supporter Actions.
As one streamlined global program, this work would enable efficient, synergetic collaboration between thousands of similarly-motivated entities.
Three essential facilitations
Finally, to enable the Supporter Actions and Expediter Collaborations, an entity will need to perform three essential facilitations.
| Facilitation | Purpose and method |
|---|---|
| FS Simplify the overall task | To seed popular focus and generate enough belief that changing course is achievable by supplying a simple action plan. |
| FP Provide essential information | To support and stimulate mass participation in the movement by providing essential information to every community in the world. |
| FC Coordinate the Collaborations | To expedite achievement of the Supporter Actions by providing streamlining services to the Expediter Collaborations. |
These facilitations could be termed the Essentialist Facilitations, given the critical need for simple, stripped-back information that facilitates mass engagement.
Expediters will need easy-to-consume information, like this report-style manifesto.
Supporters will need even simpler, more concise information. I envisage this information as a limited set of downloadable (A4/US Letter-sized) pages that are each:
- individually named
- expertly designed
- expertly translated (universally)
- strictly version-controlled
- Creative Commons licensed
So, one set of pages we can all consume, comprehend, trust, and share.
Given we are distracted by overwhelming quantities of information, and distanced by hundreds of languages, how else can enough of us ‘get on the same page’ about how we can collectively overcome our common plight?
One simple plan
Combined, the five mass actions, seven expediting collaborations, and three essential facilitations create one simple plan, which is fully outlined on the Plan page.
A role for everyone
Crucially, this plan provides a role for everyone.
- Supporters perform the five mass actions to prevent ecological collapse.
As with the fans of today’s global sports, this movement’s supporters can be anyone from anywhere. Our wallets and votes give us all the power we need to change course.
Photo credit: Saturday Star, South Africa
While the population of Greater Manchester is around 3 million, the Manchester United Football Club has around ‘1.1 billion fans and followers worldwide’.6
- Expediters contribute to one or more of the seven expediting collaborations to help Supporters perform the mass actions quickly enough to prevent ecological collapse.
Expediters are also Supporters, but we can think of them as players on the pitch. They are the millions of practioners and volunteers delivering environmental and social betterment. - Essentialists perform the three essential facilitations to simplify and empower the work of the Expediters and Supporters.
Essentialists are also Expediters and Supporters, but we can think of them as a coaching team who provide game plans and resources to help players and supporters to make their best contributions.
Equally crucially, this plan does not require everyone’s participation — just enough of us. Enough Supporters. Enough Expediters. Enough Essentialists.
How many is enough to change course? No one can know for sure, but (as I explain on the Plan page) a critical mass will be less than a quarter of any democratic population.
More importantly, the tipping point for triggering that level of participation will be an even smaller group.
The next step
So, a simple plan for changing course (‘the Plan’) exists.
And now, unless this manifesto draws out a better plan, or a better organisation to facilitate the Plan, then the next step is to legally establish a (charitable) facilitating organisation so it can seek initial philanthropic funding to:
- Establish the organisation (operationally).
- Collaboratively evolve and refine the Plan.
- Continue the Simplify the overall task (FS) facilitation.
- Begin the Provide essential information (FP) and Coordinate the Collaborations (FC) facilitations.
Encouragingly, many individual philanthropists and philanthropic organisations (such as Partners For A New Economy) are already targeting their funding to transform of our flawed economic system.
4. You can help to trigger the course change we all need
Interested in helping right now? You can!
Find out how on the Play your part page.
Most urgently, you can support completion of the manifesto via this Givealittle page.
5. What you’ll find in the rest of the manifesto
The rest of the manifesto comprises five main web pages that each answer a key question.
| Main manifesto web page | Key question answered |
|---|---|
| Challenges | Why haven’t we already changed course? |
| Approach | How can we unblock our ability to change course? |
| Plan | What mass actions will change our course? |
| Play you part | What can you do to help trigger a course change? |
| Supporting voices | How can we quickly grow widespread belief in our ability to change course? |
Note: Each page’s publication status is listed at the top of this page.
A storm of challenges
To help us to understand why we have not already changed course, the Challenges page explains:
- why the societal change we need requires focus first, then belief and numbers
- how we have been too busy to clearly see our own nature, systems, and plight
- how the global economic system disempowers us by keeping us busy, muddled, and divided
- why we can’t change course if we don’t empower ourselves as a global team
- why we can’t transform our economic system if we keep accommodating its flaws
A simplicity approach
To help us to break through our own busyness, and thus unlock the focus we need to change course, the Approach page explains how we can:
- seek simplicity and essentialism to overcome complexity and busyness
- update flawed system goals with wise ones
- consume clear, essential information to overcome the muddle of information overload
- team up to overcome the division of competitive individualism, making it the norm to solve societal problems communally and widely
- focus on ending harm-causing business to trigger a course change
- focus on redesigning our societal systems to mature our course change
- efficiently collaborate on essential tasks to expedite our course change
A simple plan
To help us to efficiently change course as a focused, confident team, the Plan page sets out how enough of us (as a team) can:
- rally around a popular goal to change course
- bring about the course change through five mass actions
- enable and expedite success through essential collaborations and facilitations
- achieve urgency by setting essential deadlines
Play your part
Because changing course requires a facilitated team effort, the Play your part page outlines how you can help me to:
- identify a better plan or, if there isn’t one, support this plan
- identify an existing organisation to optimally facilitate the plan or, if there isn’t one, support the establishment of a new organisation
- develop collaborations and ideas for teaming up quickly
A multitude of voices
And, finally, because we can only change course when enough of us believe we can be successful, the supplementary Supporting voices page shows we can:
- grow widespread belief through a multitude of diverse voices (including inspiring personalities from sport, community, the arts and sciences, academia, business, and social media) advocating the Team Humanity Actions to their communities
- draw inspiration from momentum-building changemakers
- gain confidence from insightful words of wisdom (including quotations from the inspirational publications and films pictured below)
Helpful reports or papers (click on the document image to access the official PDF download web page)
Notifications
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Notes
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Footnotes
- https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/anthropocene/<Accessed January 3, 2026> ↩︎
- The table includes ‘inequality and injustice’ as a flaw to match the guiding principle of ‘equity and justice’. While EY’s report states that ‘inequity and injustice are foundational drivers of the polycrisis’, it does not include them as a flaw. The misalignment is not explained. ↩︎
- https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/climate-change-challenge/resources/margins-mainstream-how-sustainability-became-big-idea-business <Accessed December 2, 2025> ↩︎
- https://earth4all.life/global-survey-2024/ <Accessed December 2, 2025> ↩︎
- I envisage the (CR) Renew humanity’s wisdom and (C5) Streamline system transformation Collaborations quickly convening experts (in indigenous knowledge, systems, sustainability, regeneration, ecology, economics, politics, governance, and so on), futurists, community leaders, and others to efficiently synthesise existing knowledge, wisdom, and designs. ↩︎
- https://ir.manutd.com/ <Accessed December 15, 2025> ↩︎