The novel, Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson is a book that presents the near future problems of the world, especially socioeconomic and climate change, and the way people should try to help fix that. It focuses a lot on the economic system, as well as the natural environment and how this “Ministry for the Future” and the mass population can get out of the consequences that will arise or already arose. Through his novel, Robinson uncovers his own opinions on these future issues through his characters’ voices.
There is a lot of controversy in this novel as it portrays Robinson’s outlook on the issues of the world today, and he expresses his opinions in chapters like 99. He states through one of his characters that in discussing the possible solutions to fix what has already been destroyed, “There is no single solution adequate to the task” and “what can we expect to see? Failure.” (Robinson 505). In this pessimistic view, it brings on a whole ideal of how complicated it is to find ways to fix what has already been forecasted. In this discussion, no one found one or multiple solutions to save the planet, and that “failure” is expected. This broadens to reveal how people who do not really care about the problems of the planet, especially within the natural environment, see there is no way to fix them; that every little “solution” that is put, will never entirely fix the damage done.
Robinson further states that “like-minded people working to solve the same problem will engage in continuous civil war with each other over methods, thus destroying their chances of success” because of “The narcissism of small differences” (Robinson 505). This then exhibits how failure will be brought about because of the problematic situations of “war” over the possible solutions to the point where it will never be implemented. This is a problem today as well, as superiors working for the government have to go through so many different people, especially higher-ups, to get their own plans put into action.
Robinson reveals his last opinion about the future’s consequences at the end of the novel, stating that “the only catastrophe that can’t be undone is extinction… that people can take their fate in their hands” (Robinson 563) and ends with the sentence that “we will keep going… Because we never really come to the end” (Robinson 563). This is interesting as he seems to state that extinction of the mass populations, extinction of planet Earth cannot be “undone” because it is the last thing humans can make happen without doing anything to prevent it. Although Robinson has this sort of cynical view of us never being able to completely solve our planet’s issues, he wants to leave the readers with the idea that we can only keep trying or “keep going” because we hold the power to change the world.
I think your post about Robinson's point of view is very insightful. Based upon your evidence, it almost appears as if Robinson has contradicting perspectives. It seems that he thinks we are doomed. However, it also seems that he is attempting to get us all to work towards a common goal in an attempt to save the future of the world. He seems to have trouble differentiating whether he truly thinks we are doomed or not. If anything, his pessimistic viewpoint seems like a tactic in order to invoke some panic out of people, so that people do take action and devise a plan, before it truly is too late. Additionally, he highlights that even if there are a group of people with a similar goal to improve the current conditions, their battles between whose approach is best will get in the way of any real work getting done. I think this speaks volumes upon mankind, and how we, as a whole, portray ourselves. It appears that humans are so absorbed by self-interest, and tend to think their initial thoughts are more correct than other people's that there tends to be a disconnect of ideas. This causes ignorance, and is a large reason why there is such a division between ideologies within the world. People simply are not willing to be openminded and hear another opinion that could possibly hold as much importance as their own.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very interesting how you chose to focus on Robinson's thoughts on climate change and his perspective on the chances of success of the human effort to combat it. As I was reading through the novel and as it began to come to a close there were many instances of negativity and hopelessness coming from Robinson towards the ability of individuals to come up with an adequate method to resolve climate change. It almost felt as though rather than the scope of environmental degradation being the roadblock to solving such a large problem in Robinson's eyes the greater hindrance in solving climate change is human nature. Robinson writes "Means more regard for yourself than for your allies or the problems you both face" (505 ). His statement implies that people have a tendency to act in their best self-interest and make that the focus of any situation no matter who globalized it is. Individuals have a tendency to focus on addressing their own needs and problems to resolve them within their own lives even though so many others are facing the same struggles. Robinson writes with the belief that individuals can't see past their own problems enough to realize others are also suffering to a similar extent. He addresses the lack of cooperation when solving issues affecting multiple people even though removing yourself from your own bubble and working alongside others can be the key to a quicker resolution.
ReplyDeleteI found this post interesting especially your points about how some problems can never be fixed due to higher-ups not wanting to implement the plans of people that work beneath them. I find this to be the biggest issue in today's society especially within the government and politics. There are so many gifted people with great ideas and plans to put in place but unfortunately their position in society or their roles in the government set them back. I also found it interesting how you discussed the idea of fate because that is an idea that is talked about throughout the novel. In class we discussed Marys stance on fate and whether or not she agreed with it. We came to the conclusion that Mary would disagree with fate since it is something she cannot change. Marys whole life is about being in control and the idea of being out of control and leaving the future up to fate is something that she would not enjoy. I agree that Robinson wants to leave the readers feeling like we have the power to change the world. This goes against the idea of fate because the world can be changed by us as individuals. He does however believe that to an extent the planet's issues will not be solved but I agree with him. There is no possible way that all of us will ever agree on anything and especially the topic of climate change. In order for us to make drastic changes every person would have to agree that this is the most important issue right now, which will not happen. Because of this, I believe that the planet will always have issues that remain unsolved.
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