“The Three-Body Problem” by Liu Cixin - A Sociological Perspective

In China, any idea that dared to take flight would only crash back to the ground. The gravity of reality is too strong.
在中国，任何超脱飞扬的思想都会砰然坠地的，现实的引力太沉重了。
——Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem"

Set during the Cultural Revolution of China, The Three-Body Problem traces the story of Ye Wenjie, an astrophysicist who as a teenager witnessed her father’s execution during a political struggle session. Disillusioned, Ye goes on to work at a top-secret government facility set up for the purpose of sending signals to potential alien civilizations — but then, going against official protocol, she sends a message of her own to Trisolaris abetting a reply to her invitation to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, Wang Miao, a nanotechnology specialist, is recruited by the authorities to infiltrate a shadowy group called Frontiers of Science. As Wang becomes more deeply involved with a virtual-reality game called Three Body, he discovers a world in which solar systems are subjected to chaotic and unpredictable movements, exaggerating the game’s stakes. The game, it becomes clear, is a sophisticated tool employed by the ETO (Earth-Trisolaris Organization) to recruit the solvers of the Three-Body Problem — people whose sympathies lean toward the goals of the Trisolarans.

With the Trisolaran fleet destined for Earth, there are a variety of reactions among people: some welcome the Trisolarans as saviours, some want to fight them, and some are unsure or caught in the middle. The book touches on many topics, such as humanity’s place in the universe, the implications of contact with a more advanced civilization, and the interrelationships of science, politics, and morality.

An intriguing question posed in ‘The Three-Body Problem’ is how would humanity handle knowledge of an upcoming meeting with an immensely superior alien civilization and what effect would it have, on our society, our values and our self-perception as a species? This question is important because it gets at the deepest core of what it is to be human and how we think of ourselves in the vastness of space. The novel has a scenario such that the certainty of contact with a more sophisticated species causes humanity to ask the Big Questions and rethink our place in the grand scheme of things.

Indeed, the story does ask some very profound questions about the resilience of human society, about how we might be divided against each other, or become fearful or angry under circumstances that are inherently global and thus beyond our ordinary understanding. The story also prompts reflection on the role of science and technology in shaping our futures, and the ethical dilemmas which challenge us every day as we seek to know and to grow. In addition, by virtue of the possibility of information dissemination by the Trisolarans through the virtual reality game, the story also raises important questions about appetites for information, susceptibilities to manipulation, and the blurring of boundaries between what any attentive person ought to call reality and what they might rather think of as simulation.

Finally, it seems to me that the central question ought to provoke us to consider quite broadly and quite interdisciplinarily, what kind of experience psychology and sociology have had in the century or so they have existed, and how their practitioners might think about such matters as the soul, or society; or what philosophers say when they drone on and on about the state of nature; or even what politicians and political scientists are willing to say regarding the quality of general historiography, about ourselves, knowing what we have made, and being uncertain as to what lies ahead.

The Cultural Revolution and the Trauma of Societal Upheaval

Against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, Cixin Liu – perhaps without even realising it – has written a manifesto about the transformative power of geological and social upheaval. He cleverly embeds this history lesson from the Cultural Revolution into the story, quietly pointing a blight in the pneumatic system that socialism, communism, or any other ism can wreak on life and love.

Indeed, Ye Wenjie, the heroine who observes her father’s execution in this way during a struggle session, is symbolic of the dislocation and cynicism that might attend the collapse of social values or the loss of faith in one’s superiors. And those subsequent actions of hers that we might judge, such as her attempt to encourage the Trisolarans to take over Earth, are in some sense an expression of the sort of profound alienation and hopelessness that sometimes finds purchase following social cataclysm.

The Cultural Revolution is also depicted in the novel as a parable about the frailty of human institutions and the capacity of extremist ideologies – particularly in moments of political instability and economic distress – to co-opt and transform the institutions of civil society. Given the current geopolitical context and the spread of radical ideology in non-western countries, not to mention the apparent susceptibility of ostensibly democratic regimes to subversion and upheaval, this resonates with many of the author’s readers.

The Sociology of Contact with an Advanced Civilization

In its thought experiment about the sociological consequences of contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, The Three-Body Problem wonders to what extent advanced knowledge of the arrival of superior beings would expose strains in human society and elicit differing reactions from different constituencies.

The dichotomy of opinion reflected in the founding of factions, like the ETO, which regard the arrival of the Trisolarans as a deliverance, and those who resist the alien invaders, shows the potential for division and conflict in the face of what is perceived as an existential danger – a reflection of the kinds of arguments and disputes that can occur in the real world when people believe that the end of life on Earth is in sight, as many people do in the case of climate change or pandemics.

In addition, the novel’s exploration of what it is like to encounter an advanced civilization that has a profound psychological and emotional impact on the individuals that make contact with it raises important questions about how resilient and adaptable human social structures might be in the face of radical change. The novel’s characters wrestle with existential despair, feelings of inadequacy, and the undermining of traditional systems of belief, mirroring the profound disruption that such an event could have on individual and cultural senses of themselves.

By describing the Trisolaran civilisation, with its distinctive history, values, and technologies, Liu’s novel prompts us to consider how differences in culture could shape the prospects for interstellar contact. The description of the chaotic and unstable Trisolaran planetary system, as a culture that values stability and predictability above all else, can be understood as a suggestion that environmental factors can play a formative role in cultural evolution — an idea that has a certain resonance with some anthropological theories that emphasise the role of ecological conditions in the formation of human society.

As it explores the challenges of communication and understanding between vastly different cultures, the novel raises interesting questions about cultural fidelity and the limits of human solidarity in the face of a perceived higher calling. The use of “The Three-Body” game to present the Trisolarans’ point of view and intentions to us is an illustration of how difficult it can be to translate between cultures, and of the dangers of misinterpretation or misunderstanding. The ETO and its willingness to aid the Trisolarans against the interests of humanity—which may culminate in their treachery at the end of the novel—suggests at the very least that our planet is far from united and that cultural loyalty might be a precarious foundation upon which to build a lasting civilization. These issues frequently touch upon anthropological debates over the role of belief systems in shaping human behavior.

The Ethics and Politics of Scientific Progress

The Three-Body Problem also raises questions about the ethics and politics of scientific progress, especially in the event that contact with an advanced alien species could be established. The book’s portrayal of the Trisolarans as technologically superior to humanity allows us to consider the possibility of what we might learn from them, if they were ever to become known to us. And this in turn compels us to consider the moral responsibilities of scientists and the proper role of political oversight in scientific inquiry.

The novel’s consideration of the tension between the desire for scientific knowledge and the claims of national security, as well as the moral problems confronted by characters such as Ye Wenjie and Wang Miao, may very well find an echo in contemporary debates over how to regulate cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

Finally, the novel’s portrayal of the political interactions and manoeuvrings in response to the Trisolaran crisis, involving as they do the activities of national states and international organizations, underscores the difficulty of global governance in the presence of a crisis of existential proportions. This theme is clearly relevant to current debates about the necessity of international cooperation and coordination in addressing such major problems as climate change and pandemics.