Thesis question articulation III: Predicament

Predicament: part one
Series begins back here.
If the severity of these various problems is not being overstated, there are a variety of possible scenarios. Perhaps unforseen new technological breakthroughs will open up new vistas of growth and the dawn of an even more prosperous era. Or it may still be possible to make a more or less smooth transition to a more sustainable version of the present based on existing and prospective technologies. But for many, the future appears increasingly bleak and some version of Malthusian collapse or decline seems imminent.

This prediction may be based on a pessimistic estimate of the possibility of overcoming social and political inertia in the timeframe that may be available, or it may simply arise from a belief that industrial society has already passed a point of no return. Either way, the present situation is seen as not merely a problem, but a predicament.
This post is part of a series in which I am outlining my current research question. My present working title, which this series seeks to explain, is "Anxious about tomorrow": The possibility of Christian moral attentiveness in the predicament of societal unsustainability.
A. Societal unsustainability: part one; part two
B. Predicament: part one; part two
C. Moral attentiveness: part one; part two
D. Christian: part one
E. Possibility: part one
F. Summary: part one