I agree with Mandy Meikle that humanity makes its own purposes and disagree with the person who said that we are facing the possibility of the extinction of all life on earth - even after nuclear war some bacteria if not beetles will soon be back but we'll be gone or our life may have become not worth living.

I find the notion of moribund capitalism as a cargo cult a useful one to understand our current 'death drive'. Following the second world war many Melanesian tribes destroyed all their pigs, yams etc in the belief that if they built huts like European houses complete with bamboo radio masts to communicate with the Gods then they would get cargo like the Europeans. In fact, it worked when the Americans had to deliver food to the people or they would have starved. It seems to me we are similarly in thrall to fetishised commodities.