I unironically think that Fermi's "great barrier" for the rise and sustainability of sentient life is how most civilizations devolve into leftism - which results in the high-IQ phenotypes (whites and Asians, for example) losing their sovereignty, and thus their ability to control the violent, rapidly-breeding hordes of retard phenotypes (niggers). The results in rapid overpopulation and consumption until the biosphere becomes irreparably damaged, or at least the planet runs out of enough readily-available fuel and energy to allow for colonization of other plants. The species then devolves back to the stone age, and/or goes extinct whenever the next asteroid or gamma ray burst passes through.

Even assuming that IQ isn't mostly effected by genetics, how would it even be possible to counter the trend egalitarianism has towards allowing infinite consumption and expansion? After all, if you try to make laws saying citizens can only have X number of children, or if you say Tyrone or Jimbob can't chop some more trees down to get wood for their authentic wood-smoked BBQ grill, then you're an "evil fascist dictator".

What are your thoughts, /sci/? Did we already doom ourselves by abandoning meritocratic authoritarianism?