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    1. What about the so-called precariat, then? Those middle billions just scraping by, what Americans still call the middle class, speaking of nostalgia? Could they rise up and change things by way of some kind of mass action?

      So far, since the global financial crisis in 2008, middle class families have been found to have become just as precarious as poor working families.The author hints at a possible mass uprising. A similar uprising is the 1381 Peasants' Revolt where over 10,000 peasants rallied against the regime, led by a 14-year old king, because of the heavy flat-rate taxes imposed on everyone above the age of 15, following the Black Death.

      In Robinson's TMftF, revolts, just like terrorism take on a new meaning. Perhaps they have become one and the same. Are the Children of Kali rebels or terrorists? Whichever the classification, the fear they instill largely contributes to the reduction of Carbon levels.

    2. Perhaps it's time pull down our pants and have a seat.

      This is in realization that to get this change to come, particularly legislature-wise. Hilariously Robinson uses the pulling down of pants metaphorically as a commitment to the struggle to come, which is like an episode of constipation.

      Chapter 39's hostage of world leaders at the World Economic Forum who come out of the experience with an unchanged mind is evidence of this. It will take time for key stakeholders' minds to change.

      Eventually, terrorism seems to be what changes minds for Robinson's utopia.

    3. The four billion poorest people alive have less wealth than the richest ten people on the planet, so they're not very powerful, but no one can deny that there are a lot of them. Might they force change from below?

      In today's world, the divide between the rich and poor is not a far cry from what Stanley describes in the novel. The amount of wealth owned by the poorest half of the world is less than the amount owned by just the 12 richest billionaires.

    1. A just civilization of eight billion, in balance with the biosphere's production of the things we need; how would that look? What laws would create it? And how can we get there fast enough to avoid a mass extinction event?The rentier class will not help in that project. They are not interested in that project. Indeed that project will be forwarded in the face of their vigorous resistance. Over their dead bodies, some of them will say. In which case, euthanasia may be just the thing.

      In Chaper 17, some human actors, about 8 million, were identified as those who run the economy. If the economic order is to change such that it would be pro-biosphere, they would need to be on board with the proposed economic reforms for any change to take place. Here, it is determined that the rentier class cannot be relied on to this end, hence "euthanasia may be just the thing" for Robinson's utopia to be realized.

    2. happier life as guilt-free humans on a planet of equally guilt-free humans.

      This may in itself be a form of euphemism by Robinson. A happy life as guilt-free humans on [a seemingly other] planet of equally guilt free humans may sound like somebody's imagination of an afterlife. This 'class' has died, and is out of its misery.

    3. Now, it could be argued that the rentier class is not suffering, and in fact is happily engaged in eating up everything. A parasite killing its host by overindulgence is not suffering. In which case, really the rentier class needs to be executed.

      This statement is reminiscent of Jean Jacques Rousseau's quote "When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich." This is where the popular anti-inequality slogan 'Eat the Rich' originated.

    4. "the euthanasia of the rentier class."

      The euthanasia of the rentier class is a concept in John Keynes' book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. In the concluding chapter, Keynes' argues that since rentiers' financial success is positively correlated to high interest rates, a lowering of interest rates, with the goal of achieving full employment, would eventually eliminate the rentier class.

      In The Ministry for the Future, the speculative financial logic of the global economic order that dictates interest rates is near obsolete ever since the Carbon Coin became implemented globally. The Carbon Coin, which can only be earned by ecologically sound practice, has displaced the dollar as the measure of economic value, thus placing a higher premium on sustainability than on accumulated capital.

    1. But by Marxism we mean Marxism that is integrated with Chinese conditions, and by socialism we mean a socialism that is tailored to Chinese conditions and has a specifically Chinese character.

      more interesting

    1. But if the non-human elements of the system were to break?Stick to the people. You were almost getting interesting.Who matters most in that group of eight million? Government legislators.

      For there to be actual change when it comes to climate reform, the most important people who need to be on board are people, individuals who have the means and powers to effect this change. Mary understands this, and it is evident in future chapters post-chapter 17. We frequently see Mary out and about trying to convince key stakeholders to adopt the Carbon Coin and Carbon Quantitative easing. It eventually works, albeit because of eco-terrorism to some extent.

    2. Might the central banks indeed be central to all this? Yes.

      A future chapter of TMftF mentions John Keynes. The central banks are indeed central to all of this because of Keynesian economics. John Keynes' emphasized the importance of government's intervention in the economy to deal with unemployment and to prevent inflation. The central banks' tools of trade for this are monetary policy and fiscal policy which are arguably the building blocks of the economy as we know it. They are used by the central banks and the federal reserve to influence demand and thus maintain stability.

    3. There are actor networks, but it's the actors with agency who can choose to do things differently.

      This statement explains the importance of human actors in a system as complex and seemingly abstract as the economy. It is in my opinion, what informs lobbying. Lobbyists aim to influence policy on behalf of individuals, corporations, and various interest groups by appealing to the individuals who are in charge of policy-making.

      When it comes to TMftF, this is what Mary Murphy is up to. She is out and about trying to lobby for the Ministry to get important stakeholders to adopt the Carbon Coin and CarbonQuantitative Easing.(CQE)

      On this website of the National Conference of State Legislature, lobbying is generally defined as "seeking to influence government action through written or oral communication." Different states have different criteria for lobbying.