Landyn Ronson
Mr. Vechsler
ENG2D
January 23rd, 2023
The Destructive and Selfish Tendencies of Humanity
The planet is worsening with each coming year. Recently, the doomsday clock – a
metaphor for how long until human-caused global destruction – had its time re-adjusted to
display ninety seconds until midnight. The planet is not the only thing decaying as time
progresses; the global economy is also transforming to a more capitalistic state than ever, which
presents numerous issues among the citizens living in poverty. Pierce Brown’s novel Red Rising
makes multiple social critiques about the destructive nature of humanity, as well as the widening
wealth gaps that have been caused by humanity’s greed. Both critiques have become more
relevant in recent years, and they are continuing in an upward trend.
Pierce Brown’s story makes a very relevant critique of the destructive nature of humanity
and how it can cause ignorance, especially when there is something to gain. The most thoughtprovoking way that he made this critique was by demonstrating that people can even be
destructive to themselves. When one of the antagonists of Red Rising is pinned to a table, he is
given a choice: to cut off his own hand for freedom or be forced into slavery. He then goes on to
say “I told you. I am something different than you. A hand is a peasant’s tool. A Gold’s tool is
his mind... This sacrifice means so very little to me” before cutting his hand clean off his wrist.
He was so focused on what he could gain that he permanently disfigured himself, completely
ignorant of any consequence. Earlier on in the novel, a character explains: “In the early stages of
the game, you burn everything you touch. You destroy. You consume. You ruin... Because you
can’t sustain yourselves. But then you starve because there is nothing more to burn”. The
repercussions are obvious, and yet time after time the same thing happens. The cycle of
destruction never ends in a positive light and yet everyone remains ignorant of it. This trend of
ignorance and careless destruction is increasingly important to the modern world. There is a very
notable recent event that helps put into perspective these tendencies. In February of 2022, Russia
launched an invasion of Ukraine. After months of fighting, nuclear bombs came into
conversation. Despite the mass destruction they would cause, threats were made to have them
used, which demonstrates that this destructive human nature is still present today. However, this
is just a recent example. There have been many wars throughout history that have had
devastating consequences. The bombing of Hiroshima is another example of destructive actions
being taken for the taker’s gain. Wars are not the only ruinous affairs caused by humans. Global
warming and climate change have also heavily been influenced by humans and are expected to
present numerous major issues in the coming future.
An equally if not more important tendency of society is the lust for greed and power. In
Red Rising, this is the main critique made throughout the entire story. That is because the very
setting of the world revolves around social status and “colour”, the term used for ranks. Brown
does an excellent job of portraying the lengths at which people will go out of their own
selfishness. A prime example of this is brought up in an early conversation between the
protagonist and leader of the rebellion. “It was in the early stages of the Colonization when the
wealthy of Luna began to realize Earth was nothing more than a drain on their profits... So, Luna
rebelled... Earth fought back, and Earth lost. That was the Conquering. And the Society began to
change into what it is today.” Luna is a society on Earth’s moon, that was originally a port for
colonization. However, those colonists had access to better technology than the nations of Earth,
and they rebelled. It was not due to injustice, or any other justifiable cause, but purely because of
human selfishness. Earth was once their home, but when they realized that they would thrive
without it, they conquered the existing nations. Their greed was strong enough that they did not
care about the lives that would be lost, and that is heavily concerning. A second example comes
when the protagonist first sees the surface of Mars. “The terraforming is complete... My life is a
lie. So many times [have we been told] that we are the pioneers... [That] soon the softer Colors
will join us... But they have already joined us... We pioneers were left below, slaving, toiling,
suffering to create and maintain the foundation of this empire.” Not only did the “Gold” society
go to desperate lengths to increase their own wealth and influence by conquering Earth, but their
power-hungry mindset continues well past that to the point where they see their own species as
inferior and enslave them using a dishonest lie and falsely positive reinforcement. Day by day,
they would remind the “Red” society of the importance of their mission, and yet it was all a lie to
propel themselves even further above everyone else. Pierce Brown heavily exaggerates certain
actions, as this is a work of fiction, to better portray his social critique. Despite the exaggeration,
the comments he makes are still very relevant. More people are falling into poverty each year,
while the richest are unbothered with assets worth billions. That money could easily help others,
yet instead it just goes into making the rich even more wealthy. The world is becoming even
more capitalistic and self-centered and yet there is no sign of change. While most would never
commit the crimes that take place in Red Rising, they do nothing to help the problem of poverty
in the real world.
Despite taking place in a fictional setting far into the future, Red Rising tells a story that critiques
two of the most relevant issues in modern society. The destructive and greedy nature of humanity
is something that has existed for centuries. However, the advances that have been made in
technology and the exponential growth of inflation have caused those tendencies to be more
problematic now than ever before. If nothing is done to commence or promote change, these
tendencies will ruin the current and already fragile state of the planet.