The conundrum of dense surplus energy derived from fossil fuels is “the sledge hammer effect” as the blows of the hammer on the one hand allowed a breakdown of feudal systems and slave-based economies as this new energy application replaced human and animal power; and on the other hand the sledge hammer has broken down the Goldilocks era that has supported human progress and our current western ideal of individual freedom with prosperity measured as continuous growth. When we lose the energy bonus of dense fossil fuels how will we repurpose our existence in relation to the ideal of individualism and unending growth? The hammer of scarcity induced by our climate emergency will alter us into a new relationship to each other and to the planet. The ideal of the individual will be hammered away in favor of group survival.