Where have the Good Men Gone?

(In the Universe of the Three Body Problem)

Several weeks ago, I wrote about the greatest modern Straussian story — Yun Tianming’s fairy tales, which serve both an in-story Straussian message about physics research and out-of-story commentary on Chinese and international governments. They are a crucial part of the Three Body Problem trilogy’s third book, Death’s End. 

This week, we deal with feminization and cultural drift, a core theme in the broader story. Death’s End is a book about humanity’s deep future in a world where the future of humanity is in jeopardy. Author Liu Cixin depicts numerous eras where humanity changes the assumptions it makes about its future, and civilization changes with it. One aspect of these eras is a striking condemnation of feminized norms, though Liu’s solutions are rather sparse.

In the Three Body Problem trilogy, cultural drift is downstream of necessity. In eras where there is a visible existential threat, such as the common and bunker eras, humanity becomes more competent, willing to accept risk, and masculine. When no such threat exists, such as during the deterrence era, humanity becomes more feminine, risk-averse, and envious. 

(p 118)

Cheng Xin looked at the pedestrians along the street: a woman, two women, a group of women, another woman, three women — all of them were women, all beautiful. Dressed in pretty, luminous clothes, they seemed like the nymphs of this magical forest. Once in a while, they passed some older individuals, also women,their beauty undiminished by age. As they reached the end of the branch and surveyed the sea of lights below them, Cheng Xin asked the question that had been puzzling her for days. “What happened to the men?” In the few days since she had been awakened, she had not seen a single man.

“What do you mean? They’re everywhere.” AA pointed at the people around them. “Over there: See the man leaning against the balustrade? And there are three over there. And two walking toward us.”

Cheng Xin stared. The individuals AA indicated had smooth, lovely faces; long hair that draped over their shoulders; slender, soft bodies — as if their bones were made of bananas. Their movements were graceful and gentle, and their voices, carried to her by the breeze, were sweet and tender.... Back in her century, these people would have been considered ultra-feminine.

Understanding dawned on her after a moment. The trend had been obvious even earlier. The decade of the 1980s was probably the last time when masculinity, as traditionally defined, was considered an ideal. After that, society and fashion preferred men who displayed traditionally feminine qualities. She recalled the Asian male pop stars of her own time who she had thought looked like pretty girls at first glance. The Great Ravine interrupted this tendency in the evolution of human society, but half a century of peace and ease brought about by the Deterrence Era accelerated the trend.

The malicious envy of the deterrence era is demonstrated by their treatment of Luo Ji, the inventor of the deterrence system and savior of humanity. 

(p 178)

At the beginning of the Deterrence Era, Luo Ji had enjoyed a brief period of happiness. He had been reunited with his wife, Zhuang Yan, and daughter, Xia Xia, and relived the joy of two centuries ago. But within two years, Zhuang Yan took the child and left Luo Ji. There were many stories told about her reasons. A popular version went like this: While Luo Ji remained a savior in the eyes of the public, his image had already transformed in the minds of those he loved the most. Gradually, Zhuang Yan had come to realize that she was living with a man who had already annihilated one world and held the fate of two more in his hand. He was a strange monster who terrified her, and so she left with their child. Another popular story said that Luo Ji left them, instead, so that they could live a normal life. No one knew where Zhuang Yan and their child had gone — they were probably still alive, living tranquil, ordinary lives somewhere

Cheng Xin noticed that, throughout the entire process, no one offered a word of thanks to Luo Ji for his fifty-four years of service. She didn’t know if the PDC chair or the fleet chief of staff meant to say something, but she could not recall any of the rehearsals for the ceremony including plans for thanking the old Swordholder. Humankind did not feel grateful to Luo Ji.

Feminized societies tend towards tall poppy syndrome: the less competent attacking the more competent out of envy. We can think of many examples today in which egalitarians demonize heroes who made necessary sacrifices to build something no one else was able to. The deterrence era is an insane caricature of this. Luo Ji, the literal savior of humanity, is seen as a devil. 

Another instance of this egalitarian tyranny is the persecution of the Bronze Age and Blue Space crews. The crews of these spaceships were forced to make necessary sacrifices to fight and escape aliens. One notable point is that civil liberties do not survive peak egalitarianism. Shocking. 

(p108)

Scott: What are you talking about? Are you a real judge? Is this a real court of law? What about the presumption of innocence?

Judge: The presumption of innocence does not apply to crimes against humanity. This is a principle of international law established at the start of the Crisis Era. It’s intended to ensure that traitors against humankind do not escape punishment.

Later in the story, Blue Space, which escapes the main human civilization’s persecution, ends up saving all of humanity. This is the fatalism of the Three Body Problem universe. In times of peace, humanity will attempt to genocide its potential saviors in the name of safety, kindness, and equality. 

No Great Men