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Climate Minute: Eat the Rich
A modest proposal by Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson’s 2020 cli-fi novel The Ministry for the Future starts off with a grim depiction of a killer heat wave in India in which 20 million people die in a few days. The combination of extreme heat and high humidity can literally cook people and Robinson spares no details.
In the wake of the heat wave, a new Ministry for the Future is created in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement. Robinson’s book follows the Ministry and its earnest Irish leader Mary as she implements various solutions to protect future generations as more and more people die or are displaced by the ongoing climate crisis.
We also hear about other actions that can only be described as terrorism against the rich: assassinations of polluters, deadly sabotage of shipping and air travel, deliberate introduction of Mad Cow disease, coups in oil-producing states, and more.
None of the legal work that Mary does functions without rich people fearing for their lives. This is a hopeful book full of solutions, but it all depends on the assumption that wealthy people will not do the right thing unless we eat a few of them. Thoughts?
