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The purpose of this study is to consider the near future of civilization inthe framework of thermodynamics. Kardashev's proposal to evaluate thedevelopment of celestial civilizations by the amount of energy they are able touse was adopted to translate the concept of human activity into the language ofphysics. The discussion is limited to considering the last 500 years of historyfrom the beginning of the scientific and technological revolutions to ourimmediate future. The application of classical and nonequilibriumthermodynamics is discussed. In the framework of classical thermodynamics, twosystems are compared: a) the first is a hypothetical quasi-equilibrium system,Earth without a population. Since biological evolution becomes almostimperceptible for a short period of time, such a system remains in the samepristine state for the entire period; (b) the second is our habitable planet,which is not in equilibrium due to rapid anthropogenic evolution and can beconsidered as a combination of the first system with human civilization. It isshown that in response to the development of civilization (a) the equilibriumof the hypothetical system is disturbed and processes are initiated aimed atreducing the amount of energy produced, and (b) there is a maximum on the pathof civilization development over time. The resistance of nature will continueuntil a new balance is established, corresponding to a lower level of energyproduction. The central problem is whether humanity is ready and able to agreeon a new balance, otherwise the degradation of our planet can lead to thecollapse of civilization.

Thermodynamics approach to near future of civilization