Except for FG it's not real. It doesn't meet her definition of collapse because it's not happening fast enough for her and not enough people have died yet.
Everybody dies, but collapse is special. While everyone dies society goes on. I think that is FG's point. Society is going on. For now. In many ways with social changes that are not so good. But tomorrow still brings a simulacrum of yesterday. We limp on.
When tomorrow no longer resembles yesterday, and can't because nothing works we won't be arguing about what collapse is. We also won't be able to argue. No power, and no way to host a website.
We are in
pre-collapse. It it is hard to argue collapse has not begun. If everyone got smart, an impossibility. collapse could be avoided for centuries. But the truth is we are past a dozen tipping points. It is only a matter of time now.
The measure of misery is not the measure of collapse. Misery is only an indication. Collapse causes misery, but collapse is a special kind of misery. Misery is possible without collapse.
Civilization will return when intelligent squirrels find RE's tombstone and extract the info about the original Diner from the digital archive in the stone.
Consider this:
This is not collapse. It looks like collapse, but the road still has organized traffic. Society goes on, but obviously the people in this painting are in for more bad times. The people on the right side of the road are flooded out. Buildings are underwater. What will happen on the left side? The painting does not tell.
The picture is '
in denial' of collapse in a way. It suggests 'we' can adapt. One side of the road still lives. If we can always adapt there will be no collapse. A ridiculous perspective. Thinking there is always a way ignores how much human flesh is alive. Math says we will collapse.
Without oil there are far to many to feed. Social breakdown is inevitable, but we are not there yet.