The convergence of climate instability, biodiversity collapse, resource scarcity, and social inequality signals not isolated crises, but a unified systemic emergency. Drawing on the PNAS Nexus “Earth at Risk” report and John McMurtry’s life-value onto-axiology, this article frames the planetary predicament as the “cancer stage of capitalism,” wherein an economic system grows uncontrollably, consumes its host, and ignores feedback until collapse. We argue for a shift from extractive growth to regenerative coherence — a systemic re-alignment of human economies, institutions, and cultures with the life-support systems of the Earth. The article introduces the Nested Host Coherence Map, a multi-scalar design for aligning individual, community, national, and planetary systems around the universal provisioning of life necessities. By integrating ecological science, economic reform, and moral philosophy, we outline actionable pathways for replacing extractive capitalism with a regenerative economy grounded in care, reciprocity, and justice. The choice before us is stark: evolve or perish.
