One of the points the The Three Body Problem raises is about how much the
government can control information. This question is raised in many forms and can
even be applied to both eastern culture in China, and western culture in the United
States. The beginning of the novel begins with the cultural revolution which is where
China began to open their beliefs to start including Eastern science, culture, etc.,
instead of blocking it completely out. However, when the governments of the world
found out that the Trisolarans were coming to Earth, they withheld this information from
the masses. This was one of the bigger examples, but it can also be seen with Ye when
she withholds information from her colleagues about what she found out when she
contacted the Trisolarans. Yet another example of the withholding if information was
when the Trisolarans sent robots to spy and restrict the evolution of humanity. They did
this to prevent too much advancement while the Trisolarans were on the way to Earth.
These can all draw parallels to the way that our governments withhold information from
the citizens. China has done it in the past, and what is preventing other governments
from doing it in the future? The United States government has recently released
“U.F.O.” footage hinting at the existence of extra-terrestrial life. If the They have been
hiding this for so long, it raises the question what else could they be hiding?
Another important questions this book asks is about the way humans treat each
other. When the trisolarans invade the Earth and homologate with the human
population, they are physically impossible to tell apart from other humans. However, if
they are realized to be not human, they are looked down upon even though they are of
higher intelligence. Parallels can be drawn with Racism in the United States. The
difference is that this distinction can be seen physically. Humans for their entire
existence on this planet have been making hierarchies based on trivial aspects such as
skin color. This form of hierarchy creates factions, which can also be seen within The
Three Body Problem, further dividing the populations. It is important to look at novels
that make commentaries on humans to better learn about ourselves, and how we can
improve to make the world a better place.