By Huawei Zheng, GCDC Doctoral Candidate, School of Politics and International Relations
In his epic sci-fi trilogy The Three Body, Liu Cixin coined the term ‘the chaotic era’. Basically, he imagined a system similar to our solar system, whereas in this alien system there are three ‘suns’. The movements of these three suns are almost impossible to comprehend or predict, which makes residents on the adjacent planet struggle to survive and thrive. These aliens have to deal with their chaotic era, in which even days and nights do not come regularly. However, they showed astonishing resilience and developed their civilisation, which, for a long period, exceeded the Earth civilisation by far.
We have the fortune to enjoy a warm and predictable sun. Nevertheless, when a global pandemic meets a devastating war going on in Ukraine, life of every citizen on this planet has been disrupted, to say the least. For my generation, this is the first time that our daily life has been significantly affected by international events. To give some personal examples, if you own a traditional petrol-fuelled car, the cost of your daily travel would be increased by global oil price. If someone like me who just paid a deposit for an EV, you will expect a long wait and a likely price rise, due to the disruption of global supply chains and the rising price of chips.
There may be more ramifications that outweigh these disruptions. Food insecurity, a generation plagued by COVID and long-COVID, and an economic recession may loom ahead, given the ongoing war and the nonstop spread and mutation of the virus. Some of our Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are at stake, such as no poverty, zero hunger, and good health/well-being. Looking forward, we may have entered our ‘chaotic era’, in which securing these SDGs entails dealing with conflicts and disorder.
There is no easy answer or easy solution to this difficult situation. If there are ways to help us suffer less and find a way out, we may need to get prepared for change, build our resilience, work together, embrace unpredictability, and mitigate our loss. These apply to individuals, civil societies, businesses, and states as well.
But there is one thing reassuring in Liu Cixin’s The Three Body: Both the Earth and the alien civilisation will morph into a stronger civilisation, after they overcome their predicaments and move on.