Moreover, the spread of a unified ideology over the whole globe, Western Democ- racy, leaves the way open to a bigger collapse than ever before. Even the Animal Kingdom is no longer seen as of higher worth than the Vegetable as the spread of the Gaia hypothesis shows. This is the Chaotic element that can bring down a whole pack of cards. There is no ethical reference point, no beginning from which to derive an end to aim for, to praise, to work towards. The result is a confusion of belief as people scramble to find a new ideology.
Fundamentalists choose deliberate blindness and perverse stupidity.
Pagans begin to construct a new ideology based on the absence of heirarchy and turn to cyclical and egalitarian beliefs. But so what. All things considered, I think that things are going pretty well.