Our biggest threat is not an asteroid about to crash into us, something we can do nothing about. Instead, all the major threats facing us today are problems entirely of our own making. And since we made the problems, we can also solve the problems.

Diamond contrasts existential threats beyond human control (an asteroid impact) with the dominant dangers he argues actually confront modern societies: environmental degradation, resource depletion, inequality, and political or institutional failures. The point is both accusatory and empowering. If the gravest risks are self-inflicted, then fatalism is misplaced; responsibility and agency lie with human choices, policies, and collective behavior. The quote encapsulates a recurring theme in Diamond’s work: societies often collapse not from unavoidable external shocks but from decisions about land use, consumption, governance, and willingness to respond to warning signs. It frames crisis as a solvable problem of human systems rather than destiny.