For centuries, capitalism has reigned supreme, dictating the flow of wealth, resources, and human ambition. It has been an unchallenged force, seemingly immune to the threats of instability, recession, and even global conflicts. But nature, the ultimate power, has finally called time on the capitalist experiment. The climate crisis, fuelled by the relentless exploitation of fossil fuels, the destruction of natural ecosystems, and unchecked industrialisation, has reached a tipping point. And with it, the foundations of capitalism are crumbling.

The climate catastrophe has driven weather extremes beyond anything seen in recorded history. Floods engulf entire cities, wildfires consume vast landscapes, and heatwaves render regions uninhabitable. The once-mighty insurance industry, the backbone of financial security, is now openly admitting defeat.

Günther Thallinger, a senior figure at Allianz SE, one of the world’s largest insurers, has laid bare the stark reality: as temperatures climb towards 3°C above pre-industrial levels, insurance will simply cease to be viable. Without insurance, there can be no mortgages, no infrastructure investment, no financial stability, and no capitalism as we know it.

Markets, long perceived as indestructible, are collapsing under the weight of climate chaos. Assets are losing their value in real time. Once-thriving cities are becoming economic voids. The financial sector is imploding, and with it, the entire capitalist framework is dissolving. The crisis capitalism once sought to exploit has instead consumed it whole.

For years, corporations and governments assured the public that adaptation was possible, that humans could innovate their way out of climate collapse. But this, too, was a grand illusion. As Thallinger states, no amount of adaptation can prevent the economic devastation caused by rising temperatures. There is no ‘adapting’ to cities becoming unliveable, to coastlines vanishing under rising seas, or to agricultural systems collapsing under prolonged droughts.

Governments, which once bailed out failing banks and industries, now face an unmanageable financial burden. The cost of disaster recovery has skyrocketed beyond state budgets. Australia, for instance, has seen its disaster relief spending increase sevenfold in just six years. When catastrophe after catastrophe strikes, the safety net shreds. No amount of money can buy a new planet.

The end of capitalism is not a crisis to mourn but a long-overdue liberation. For centuries, the system has prioritised profit over people, growth over sustainability, and exploitation over balance. Now, as climate collapse dismantles its infrastructure, we are left with a blank slate. The question is no longer whether capitalism can be saved; it cannot, but what comes next?

In its place, new systems must emerge. Cooperative models of resource management, localised economies based on resilience rather than extraction, and community-led governance will become the foundations of a post-capitalist world.

For too long, the pursuit of endless economic growth has been mistaken for progress. Now, at the dawn of a new era, humanity has the chance to redefine what progress truly means. It is time to build a society that respects nature’s boundaries, values collective well-being over corporate gain, and ensures that the mistakes of capitalism are never repeated.

The climate has spoken. Capitalism is over. What happens next is up to us.