Dystopia: Climate Change & Class (ESSAY)

Dystopia is here: Climate Crisis and Class

 

The modern world is in a constant state of change- the political, social, economical, and ecological climates are shifting and moving every single day. Capitalism is often the largest reason these shifts and divides happen as classes sink and rise, monetary value inflates and deflates, and profit is valued over the environment as corporations take more land and spread more pollution causing tremendous damage to the world around us. 

These shifts have caused much division amongst people of all classes as they try to navigate safe ways of existing in an era of plagues, violent weather, racial conflict, and censorship. Traditional and modern ways are at war in our society as we try to decide which is more valuable to the monetary driven world before us as it tilts dangerously into an era of unknown ecological havoc. The idea of major ecological change stirred up fear as people are beginning to realize how largely classism and capitalism play into the changing world around us. But there is another question that must be discussed as this essay traverses the novels discussed this semester; are we already living in a dystopian world? 

  In the novel Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler the idea of change is incredibly important as the world suffers a major climate shift. The main character often discusses the idea of change as crucial and inevitable. The world in which Lauren lives has turned into a desolate landscape of heat and sickness with corporate businesses owning and destroying the lives of millions. People must pay absurd amounts for police or fire departments to come to them even when they do nothing. Herds are pushed through dangerous marketplaces where prices are so inflated that many struggle to even buy water. “The company-city subgenre always seemed to star a hero who outsmarted, overthrew, or escaped "the company.” I've never seen one where the hero fought like hell to get taken in and underpaid by the company. In real life, that's the way it will be. That's the way it is.” (Butler, 1993) 

This drastically changed world of inflated prices and crisis caused by socioeconomic issues found in Butler’s book is eerily similar to the world we live in today as racial and economic divides rise to a staggering high. Ian Gough’s book Heat, Greed and Human Need discusses similar topics of how corporate greed leads to a dangerous climate both ecologically and economically. At a late point in the book, Gough discusses how more wealthy countries are often praised for their efforts to stop climate change. He specifically points out how Britain was praised for closing a polluting industry but it was simply moved to a place of lower economic status- polluting their land instead of Britain’s. (Gough, 2017) This shows corporations are unwilling to make real changes to the climate crisis at the cost of their own productions and profit. Many companies have claimed to have changed their emissions of chemicals and gases when they’ve simply moved the locations of those emissions to an impoverished area.

This corporate greed can be connected back to Parable of the Sower as the large corporations force people into open and dangerous territory because they are in a lower economic status than the people who remain in safe, gated cities. Even today people are forced into cheaper homes in more dangerous climate areas because they cannot afford homes in safer locations. For example Fredericton floods severely every spring- the homes by the waterside are far more affordable for middle and lower class and many are forced to stay in this more dangerous location despite the fact that the climate causes the river to rise into homes. 

In industrial cities housing prices are lower in areas of increased pollution leading to lower classes being forced to live in overpopulated areas with poor air quality. This inherently classist design puts a price on clean air and forces those who can’t afford it to endure the consequences. (Liu, 2018) 

The middle class in Parable of the Sower live in minimally gated communities that somewhat protect them from the brutal and violent world living outside their walls. These gated communities only lead to more violent behaviour as people on the outside push back- wishing to enter safe locations. This eventually leads to the fall of their gated town as the outsiders force their way inside and loot the homes of the community. “Some kind of insane burn-the-rich movement, Keith had said. We've never been rich, but to the desperate, we looked rich. We were surviving and we had our wall. Did our community die so that addicts could make a help-the-poor political statement?” (Butler, 1993). Class divide as shown through Parable of the Sower does not work as our climate is dramatically changing and everyone will need protection from it- not just the wealthy. 

The novel The Marrow Thieves also takes on the topic of class divide in a desolate world as we see through the eyes of a native boy named Frenchie. It is brought up in the story that the Canadian government forced native people from their natural land and laid down oil pipelines and polluted their world without thinking of the consequences. The corporations and governments are viewed as the antagonists in this story and many other types of media we see the same story played over and over again. When he meets a girl named Wab she describes living in an apartment block where people huddled in the streets and any spare space in buildings because of cuts in funding including grocery stores, electricity, and housing while the rich government remains safe from the rising sea levels and shortages. (Dimaline, 2017) 

“From where we were now, running, looking at reality from this one point in time, it seemed as though the world had suddenly gone mad. Poisoning your own drinking water, changing the air so much the earth shook and melted and crumbled, harvesting a race for medicine. How? How could this happen? Were they that much different from us? Would we be like them if we'd had a choice? Were they like us enough to let us live?” (Dimaline, 2017) Frenchie’s world- the world of the Metis- had been crumbling long before ours did and yet the government did nothing but push the native people further down a path of ruin. 

“Métis and non-status First Nations lack access to these services and resources while facing the same determinants of health that have created egregious disparities in health in comparison to non-Indigenous people, such as lack of access to secure, affordable or adequate housing, increased rates of unemployment and underemployment, food insecurity, poverty, and disproportionate rates of incarceration and child welfare apprehension (Greenwood & de Leeuw, 2012; Loppie & Wien, 2009; Smylie, 2009; Smylie & Adomako, 2009; Statistics Canada, 2008).” Classism towards indigenous people is not a new thing as many indigenous people struggle to connect to their environmental roots and traditions. The world of the indigenous people has already suffered a major “climate” shift as the native people were forced from their homes onto reservations. It could only be imagined that these situations would worsen during a climate crisis as they did in The Marrow Thieves. “And all those pipelines in the ground? They snapped like icicles and spewed bile over forests, into lakes, drowning whole reserves and towns. So much laid to waste from the miscalculation of infallibility in the face of a planet's revolt.”

Between the years 2000 and 2019 there were 7348 major climate disasters worldwide resulting in a devastating amount of human death and loss of homes and jobs. It cannot be forgotten that biological disasters such as the coronavirus are also known as climate disasters which have taken a sharp increase in the past decade. The warming climate has been linked to the increase in climate disasters which have been climbing to a startling amount since the beginning of this century. (Larson, 2020)  

Looking at both works of fact and fiction it is obvious that the middle and lower classes would suffer far greater than the wealthy. In a world that already suffers today from class injustice and is sinking into a place of climate crisis, Parable of the Sower and The Marrow Thieves highlights a story of class divide and survival. Each of the characters from both stories suffer a different type of racial or monetary class that differ from others and worsen their situations in a climate crisis. 

In the real world it is true that the lower classes would suffer the most in a climate crisis, specifically the middle class. A study done over 215 cities examined the spending habits per household in areas where climate risk- such as flooding and overwhelming heat- has already increased. It was observed that the middle class in these areas spent more of their household salary on housing rather than on leisure and recreational activities. The report says this spending could lower the wealth of the middle class as the middle class puts most of their money into protecting themselves and recovering from each climate disaster. (Myers,UBS, 2016) 

The study also states that this shows that the middle class tends to believe in the effects of climate change. This could lead to more pushback from the middle class for the government to act on fixing this upcoming climate crisis rather than let it happen. “the forces that make the middle class suffer and adapt to climate change are the same forces that are likely to stir the middle class to political activism”. (Myers,UBS, 2016) 

When looking at corporate dominance over the modern world Oryx and Crake brings up some interesting concepts that could be applied to today's society. In the world of Oryx and Crake corporations have completely taken over how society functions and built compounds where only those with corporate jobs could live and thrive as the world remains in shambles from the apocalyptic disaster; which at the end of the novel we find was caused by one of the corporations. (Atwood, 2003)

The corporate driven world leads to everything and anything being for sale including sex which we see through Snowman’s love interest, Oryx who was sold into the world of sex slavery as a child. “But love was undependable, it came and then it went, so it was good to have a money value, because then at least those who wanted to make a profit from you would make sure you were fed enough and not damaged too much.” (Atwood, 2003) 

This world of corporate disaster leads to people being desperate to profit off of anything. Health companies released diseases into the public for the sole purpose of profiting when people came desperately looking for medications. It was a society dominated by fear and profit and the belief that without power you would drown. This crisis led to major changes in how people interact with each other. The world is more cruel towards each other and only seeks to gain from one person to the next. Sex and love are paid for rather than found, mothers sell their children into a life of slavery rather than keep them safe from the world around them. The profit of child pornography runs rampid during this apocalyptic crisis.

During the Covid 19 pandemic the activity of pedophiles and child pornography have soared in the year of isolation. Predators were lurking on social media and dark websites looking for children to meet and exploit for profit or sexual gratification. Videos of children being abused in a sexual nature went from 500 through December and February to 1500 in March and May. (Thompson, 2020) 

During a Zoom meeting with climate activists a video of an infant being sexually assaulted was played by a hacker, shocking the 20 activists who were busy discussing the pandemic and climate crisis. Moderation is falling short on major social media apps as pedophiles run rampid selling child pornography and harassing social media websites during this world crisis as it did in Oryx and Crake.  (Solon, 2020) 

There are more ways divide has been created during the pandemic, racial and ethnic groups are at war with each other as police brutality is recorded and shown to the world as proof for racial injustice. These crises of human relationships can be found in all three novels (and many more cli-fi novels) as a main plot point as characters try to navigate worlds where human compassion is basically non-existent. 

In Parable of the Sower the idea of excluding people from different areas for protection is incredibly important- even if it means the death of the other person. Lauren has to decide constantly who is safe within her group of survivors and who is a threat to them. This exclusion might seem cruel in our society but when it comes to a situation of survival it is completely necessary.  “We're a pack, the three of us, and all those other people out there aren't in it. If we're a good pack, and we work together, we have a chance. You can be sure we aren't the only pack out here." (Butler, 1993) 

In The Marrow Thieves the indigenous people suffer constantly at the hands of the government. Their lands were taken away far before the climate crisis and now their dreams. In the world ravaged by global warming people have lost the ability to dream leading to insanity. The dream-less people begin hunting and killing indigenous groups as they still have their ability to dream through their bone marrow. Recruiters track and hunt them relentlessly searching for their bone marrow to give to people who might be more “deserving”. This complete disregard of moral and ethical justice is very disturbing. (Dimaline, 2017) 

In Oryx and Crake, Crake has pushed himself away entirely from human relationships and sees himself as above others while Snowman craves human connection. The population of this ravaged world has turned to buying emotions, sex, and love. People don’t connect the way they used to. Sex is no longer personal, it is seen as a competition and a gloating point. People are divided and angry as they are in the world today. (Atwood, 2003) 

Throughout this paper comparisons can be made to the fact that the world we are living in today is in fact a dystopian world, or a world on the cusp of dystopia. Greta Thunberg, a young climate activist calls out the world leaders for causing irreversible damage to the environment and creating a world that will leave their children in ruin and dystopia. She calls out the world leaders for leaving their children to remove billions of tons of Co2 from the air with technology that has not yet been developed.

“So a 50% risk is simply not acceptable to us -we who have to live with the consequences.

To have a 67% chance of staying below a 1.5 degrees global temperature rise – the best odds given by the ‘Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’ the world had 420 gigatons of CO2 left to emit back on Jan. 1st, 2018. Today that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatons.” (Thunberg, 2019). There has been a call to action in this world of terrifying change and yet it seems to go unnoticed. 

Another young activist named Kelsey Juliana appeared on Moyers and company to give a passionate speech about the need for change in our modern world and how simply “being green” was not enough to satisfy her in the battle against a catastrophic future. Kelsey calls on the government for not abiding by their Public Trust Doctrine and seemingly brushing aside the issues of the climate crisis for corporate greed as was done in almost all the novels we’ve read this semester. 

“The amounts of carbon dioxide polluting the atmosphere are skyrocketing, higher than in 800,000 years. Increasing so fast that when the accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers recently crunched the numbers, they concluded that we're just 20 years from catastrophe.” (Juliana, 2014). Twenty years until climate catastrophe and yet no major changes have been made to reduce these risks even to this date in 2021. 

The three novels discussed in this essay were used as a comparison to the ever changing and ever-so-terrifying world developing around us as many scenarios that seem far fetched in these science fiction novels are actually very close to the truth. Humanity is facing a climate crisis as we speak. Storms rage every season- devastating cities. Overpopulation grows and people go hungry. Privacy and censorship are ripped away as the government begins to watch our every move. Since the early 2000s there have been many climate disasters that should have raised suspicions before this date. 

All these subjects discussed as a topic of science fiction are now in fact reality whether we want to believe it or not. The call to action was ignored as young activists like Greta have pointed out time and time again. These novels are not just far-fetched works of fiction; they are warnings to the modern world to fix things before it's too late. If humanity is to face a climate catastrophe such as the way these stories suggest the lower and middle class will face the most suffering while the upper class thrives. Climate crisis in itself is a failure of capitalism and corporations to put aside greed and save the lives of millions of people worldwide. 

The dystopian world is on the doorstep of human society in regards to politics, human relationships, economy, and environmental disasters. Climate fiction may not be fiction for much longer as seas and temperatures rise and health and human wellbeing fall. It is an out of balance system that needs to be fixed and the first place to look at fixing climate disaster would be corporate greed and abuse of consumers. 

Citations: 

Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Sower. Warner books ed., Warner Books, 1993.

Dimaline, Cherie. The Marrow Thieves. First ed., Dancing Cat Books, an Imprint of Cormorant Books, 2017.

Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake. McClelland & Stewart, 2003.

Gough, Ian. "Climate capitalism: emissions, inequality, green growth". Heat, Greed and Human NeedClimate Change, Capitalism and Sustainable Wellbeing. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017.

Allan, B. & Smylie, J. (2015). First Peoples, second class treatment: The role of racism in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Toronto, ON: the Wellesley Institute.

Written by Joe Myers. (n.d.). Why climate change will hit the middle class first. 

“Child Sex Exploitation Is on the Rise in Canada during the Pandemic | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 13 July 2020, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pandemic-child-sexual-abuse-1.5645315. 

Solon, Olivia. “Child Sexual Abuse Images and Online Exploitation Surge during Pandemic.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 24 Apr. 2020, www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/child-sexual-abuse-images-online-exploitation-surge-during-pandemic-n1190506. 

Staff, NPR. “Transcript: Greta Thunberg's Speech At The U.N. Climate Action Summit.” NPR, NPR, 23 Sept. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/09/23/763452863/transcript-greta-thunbergs-speech-at-the-u-n-climate-action-summit. 

“Moyers & Company: Climate Change—The Next Generation.” Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2014, fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=106437&xtid=60355.

Liu, Runqiu et al. “Impacts of Haze on Housing Prices: An Empirical Analysis Based on Data from Chengdu (China).” International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 15,6 1161. 2 Jun. 2018, doi:10.3390/ijerph15061161

Larson, Nina. “Climate Change Spurs Doubling of Disasters since 2000: UN.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 12 Oct. 2020, phys.org/news/2020-10-climate-spurs-disasters.html.