Reflections on Adam Tooze’s Lecture on Crisis, Complexity, and the Limits of Understanding
By Edna Batengas-Chow, Events, Communications, and Marketing Officer, Dialogue and Engagement Unit
On the evening of April 8 in Vancouver, community members, students, and faculty gathered at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema for a timely public conversation on the state of the world.
Hosted by 51社区黑料Public Square, Faculty of Graduate Studies, and 51社区黑料Live supported by SFU鈥檚 President鈥檚 Office, the event brought together leading voices to explore one of the defining questions of our time: how can we understand a world shaped by overlapping crises, accelerating change, and growing uncertainty? We鈥檙e grateful for the support that made tonight鈥檚 event possible through the John M. Munro Lecture Endowment Fund. We鈥檇 also like to acknowledge the members of the Munro Lecture Selection Committee for their guidance and contributions: Kiffer Card, Amy Lee, and Gordon McTaggart.
The evening opened with remarks from Dr. Mary O鈥橞rien, who grounded the gathering in a sense of shared purpose, inviting the audience into a space of reflection and dialogue. Contributions from Elder Graunty Terri and 51社区黑料President Dr. Joy Johnson further emphasized the university鈥檚 role in convening conversations that connect research, public understanding, and lived experience.
The evening鈥檚 central lecture was delivered by economic historian Dr. Adam Tooze, who explored the challenges of interpreting a rapidly changing global landscape.
Rather than offering a single explanatory framework, Dr. Tooze reflected on the limits of traditional ways of understanding the present moment, pointing instead to the need for new approaches to thinking about complexity and uncertainty.
Key themes from the lecture
1. Polycrisis as a lived condition
The concept of polycrisis reflects not only the presence of multiple global challenges, but also the way they intersect and intensify one another, creating a sense of instability and disorientation.
Throughout the lecture, Dr. Tooze returned to the concept of polycrisis. The term describes not only the presence of multiple crises, but also the ways in which they intersect, interact, and intensify one another.
As he described:
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just that there are many things happening at once. It鈥檚 that they don鈥檛 go together.鈥�
Economic volatility, climate pressures, geopolitical tensions, and technological transformation are unfolding simultaneously, yet without a clear hierarchy or linear relationship.
As suggested during the lecture, this creates a distinct sense of disorientation. This is not only analytical, but also experiential.
鈥淚t has a kind of structure that is nauseating鈥� we can鈥檛 really tell where we鈥檙e going.鈥�
2. Limits of traditional frameworks
Historical and analytical tools remain important, but they are increasingly strained by the scale and speed of contemporary change.
Reflecting on historical parallels, Dr. Tooze pointed to moments when established frameworks for understanding the world began to break down.
He described periods in which the 鈥渟pace of experience鈥� and the 鈥渉orizon of expectation鈥� no longer aligned. What people anticipated no longer matched what they were witnessing.
As discussed during the lecture:
鈥淲e are confronted with realities that no reasonable person would have carried as an expectation.鈥�
From the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence to shifting geopolitical dynamics, the present moment challenges conventional approaches to interpretation.
While historical context remains important, it may not be sufficient on its own to explain current conditions.
3. A shifting global landscape
The evolving relationships between the United States, China, and Europe point to a more fragmented and interdependent world, shaped by both cooperation and competition.
Dr. Tooze鈥檚 analysis also examined the evolving relationships between the United States, China, and Europe, highlighting how these dynamics are reshaping the global order.
Rather than a clear transition from one dominant system to another, the lecture suggested a more fragmented and interdependent landscape. Power is distributed across multiple centres, shaped by both cooperation and competition.
At the same time, internal pressures within these regions continue to influence how global challenges are addressed. These include political polarization, institutional strain, and questions of governance.
As reflected throughout the discussion, this creates a fundamental tension.
The issues at hand, including climate change, technological transformation, and economic stability, require coordinated responses. Yet the conditions that enable coordination are increasingly complex.
For Canadian audiences, these dynamics remain highly relevant. They shape national conversations around economic resilience, climate policy, and Canada鈥檚 role within a shifting global system.
4. Progress within tension
Advancements in areas such as renewable energy demonstrate significant progress, even as geopolitical dynamics complicate collective action.
Alongside these challenges, the lecture also highlighted areas of significant progress, particularly in renewable energy development.
Dr. Tooze pointed to the scale of global investment and technological advancement. He noted that recent developments, especially in China, are influencing what is possible in the transition to cleaner energy systems.
鈥淚t is no exaggeration to say that in the last few years, China has transformed the possibilities for survival on this planet.鈥�
At the same time, these advancements are unfolding within a broader geopolitical context.
As discussed during the lecture, climate action is shaped by strategic interests, economic competition, and shifting alliances. Progress is neither linear nor evenly distributed.
5. Artificial intelligence and meaning-making
The rise of AI raises important questions about authorship, authority, and how knowledge is produced and understood.
The rise of artificial intelligence emerged as another key theme.
Dr. Tooze framed AI not only as a technological development, but also as a challenge to how knowledge and meaning are produced and understood.
鈥淲hat happens when we train machines to mimic meaning-making so well that we can no longer tell?鈥�
This question carries particular relevance for academic institutions, researchers, and communicators. It raises broader considerations about authorship, authority, and trust.
6. The role of public dialogue
Universities play a critical role in creating spaces for reflection, engagement, and informed discussion in times of complexity.
Events such as this reflect the role universities can play in navigating complexity.
By convening conversations that bring together research, public dialogue, and diverse perspectives, creates space for critical engagement with the issues shaping our world.
In a moment defined by overlapping crises, these spaces remain essential.
They do not provide definitive answers. Instead, they support deeper understanding, informed discussion, and collective reflection.
The evening also extended beyond the stage, with audience members contributing questions and perspectives through Slido. This real-time engagement underscored the importance of dialogue as an ongoing, participatory process鈥攐ne that invites curiosity, challenges assumptions, and reflects a shared commitment to understanding the complexities of the present moment together.
Holding uncertainty and possibility
In response to a question about hope, Dr. Tooze reflected on the dual nature of the present moment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not that I鈥檓 pessimistic鈥� but it does feel like we鈥檙e going mad.鈥�
As suggested in the discussion, alongside instability there are also clear examples of collective capacity and innovation. These include scientific breakthroughs and large-scale environmental initiatives.
These developments do not resolve the tensions of the present. However, they do point to the potential for meaningful progress.
