Moreover, the Kardashev framework erases the diversity of cultural values and civilizational goals found across the globe. Not all societies measure progress in terms of material power or technological scale. Many Indigenous traditions emphasize reciprocity with the Earth, rather than domination. Philosophical traditions from Asia, Africa, and Latin America have long centered balance, harmony, and relational ethics over extractive control. By contrast, the Kardashev Scale presents a one-size-fits-all vision of advancement, rooted in a narrow, Western industrial paradigm.
The limitations of the Kardashev Scale not only misguide our vision of progress, they may also blind us to the very civilizations we seek in the cosmos, as revealed by the enduring mystery of the Fermi Paradox.