The Second Renaissance paper series explores the foundations of our global crisis and the cultural paradigm shift needed for a wiser, regenerative future.
Paper 1
What & Why of a Second Renaissance
Sylvie Barbier, Rosie Bell & Rufus Pollock · 2024
What is a second renaissance and why is it relevant in this moment of escalating crisis? This foundational paper introduces the idea of a cultural paradigm shift — a "Second Renaissance" — arguing that our interconnected global challenges are rooted in the views and values of modernity, and that a fundamental shift in worldview is both possible and necessary.
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Paper 2
How of a Second Renaissance
Sylvie Barbier, Rosie Bell & Rufus Pollock · 2024
How can paradigmatic cultural change and a second renaissance come about? This paper examines the dynamics of paradigm shifts — how they emerge, what drives them, and what conditions support deep cultural transformation at scale.
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Paper 3
From Polycrisis to Metacrisis
Rosie Bell & Rufus Pollock · 2024
Our world shows signs of multi-systemic breakdown. "Polycrisis" refers to an entanglement of interconnected crises, while "metacrisis" denotes the foundational conditions generating them. This paper investigates how the collective worldviews of modernity underlie systemic failures — and why addressing root causes, not just symptoms, is essential.
Paper 4
Developmental Spaces: Cultural Incubators for a Time of Transformation
Rosie Bell, Boaz Feldman & Rufus Pollock · 2025
Addressing interconnected global crises requires shifts at the level of collective consciousness and worldview, not merely technical solutions. This paper proposes a model for dedicated spaces where communities engage in sustained, multi-domain inner development — spiritual, cognitive, psychological and ethical — in the service of cultural transformation.
Paper 5
In Tech We Trust
The god-like authority of technology in the modern age — and what it means to set a wiser course
Rufus Pollock, Rosie Bell & Sylvie Barbier · 2025
Modern humanity doesn't simply use technology; we perceive the world in its image, and invest it with sacred authority to guide our choices. This essay explores the foundations of these dysfunctional tendencies within the modern cultural paradigm, and considers the shifts in worldview and inner capacity that might support a future society to choose more wisely the forces we unleash.