The threat of disaster is a diabolical distraction - spiritual matters must come first and be the focus

The problem of modernity is spiritual; Not therefore material.

In The West we have had, for six or seven decades, unprecedented peace, prosperity, abundance, comfort, convenience, security, fun, stimulation, pain-less-ness.

The intention was that this would free us to achieve higher spiritual goals. However, we have instead used this unique opportunity utterly to reject spiritual goals - and to seek for more material stuff for ourselves - and (as a sop to our guilt at failing even to try and do what we know we ought to do) - focusing on those areas of insufficiency (whether the increasingly rare situation of absolute material deprivation, or by inventing the modern concept of relative material deprivation - aka the sin of envy).

The need, now, as for many decades, is for spiritual renewal. That is the need. That is what we ought to do.

The threat, or imminence, of material disaster - collapse or whatever - is a distraction. Even if it is 100 percent true, it is a distraction.

Past societies had war, starvation, epidemics, rampant cruelties and yet they were focused on spirituality. They often indeed, achieved astonishingly high level of spirituality; despite material sufferings beyond our experience, beyond our imaginations perhaps.

Therefore; the stupidest thing we can do now is to say and believe things like: "First secure the borders, then we can focus on spiritual matters"; "First stop the war, and then we can focus on spirit", "First feed the hungry, then spiritual development".

No, no, no! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

First sort out your desperate spiritual state (your lack of purpose, the meaning-less-ness, the alienation and existential loneliness etc.), and address the same in Western in society.

We must, must, must have Christian revival, in ourselves and enough others - and then (and only then)... we should try to do whatever is your strategic material priority.

All the material problems, the incipient disasters and credible threats of collapse, have their origin in our spiritual state - that is precisely why that have not already been sorted out.

These material problems never will be sorted out, they really won't, not until the spiritual side is first sorted out; and if the gross spiritual deficit is not filled then there will be neither purpose, motivation not insight to sort anything out - just more or the same chasing after a perfection of materialism.

That we can do the material stuff first is a delusion, a deadly snare - diabolically inspired:

That is what 'they' want you to believe!

The reality, the lesson of history, it that spiritual values should always come first - in war and peace, in poverty and prosperity, in suffering and in comfort; and only when a solid spiritual base is in place can the secondary material priorities come to the fore - and (sometimes) actually get done. 

NOTE: One major significance of the above analysis is that the secular Right, which focuses on common sense, tough-minded material solutions to urgent problems, as the priorities; is (whether deliberately, or unintentionally) sustaining and strengthening the major, dominant, lethal flaw of modern society.