Storytelling is a key instrument for social change. Think about it: If we’re going to convince our communities that we need to tear down our economic framework and build a new one, we need skillful storytellers to craft imaginative, inspiring potential paths forward.

That’s why Civic Action founder Nick Hanauer recently interviewed science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson on our podcast Pitchfork Economics. His novel, “The Ministry for the Future,” tells the story of our society collapsing in the near future due to the impacts of climate change. Listen to the full Pitchfork Economics episode now to hear more. >>

On the podcast, Robinson and Hanauer discuss the speculative novel and the current flaws within our economic framework. The duo agree that if the U.S. continues down this neoliberal path – where we let the super-rich get even richer at everyone else’s expense – our outlook to survive climate change is grim.

"Economics is the operating system of the world,” Nick Hanauer explained. “If it’s a crappy operating system, you get a crappy result.”

Robinson’s novel is a cautionary tale about what will happen if we continue to use this crappy operating system. While the scenarios he depicts, with spiking temperatures, catastrophic storms, and climate refugees, are grim, he says he wrote the book as an act of hope. When discussing the inspiration for his book, he recalls when a graduate professor once told him, “'Stan, you do not have to be in a plane crash to understand that being in a plane crash would be a bad thing.'” Robinson explained, "We tell these stories, and then we hope to avoid the plane crash."

Robinson’s story represents the worst-case-scenario, but he says there is reason for hope everywhere. He explains that he’s talked to officials at the Federal Reserve, the White House, and the World Bank about the crisis – and while some officials continue to drag their feet on the issue, President Biden’s green initiatives are a step in the right direction.

If we keep working toward a better, more sustainable economy, we can avoid the “plane crash” that Robinson details in “The Ministry of the Future.”

Listen to the full episode of Pitchfork Economics now to hear a fascinating conversation about science fiction, the failures of our economic framework, and climate change.

Thanks for reading,

Team Civic Action