Governmental Reliance?

In 28 Days Later, Children of Men, and Parable of the Sower, there are very apparent parallels in the absence of any feasible government. Whether the government has dismantled due to an eliminating disease, hopelessness for the future, or just general corruption, in each of these plots, the official government in place can clearly not be relied upon. In one story after the next, hope and faith in the government vanishes again and again and again. What could these governments be doing so wrong that these to these worlds are plagued with viral epidemics, infertility, extraneous immigration, and community safety disintegration? Based on the dystopian predictions of these plots, it seems that there is no hope in regards to government protection if an apocalyptic change occurs in our world.

In 28 Days Later, the government does not even retain salvageable hope. The government did not put any emergency safe haven plan into play during the 28 days of infection for the possible survivors. These survivors are left with nothing. Jim, having just woken up for the first time since infection’s existence due to a coma, asks, “What about the government?” to which he is told, “There is no government, no police, no army, no TV, no radio, no electricity.” The survivors are left on their own to continue surviving and to eventually form their own system of rule.

Then, in Children of Men, the remains of the government once the effects of infertility are realized are not much better than the nonexistent ones in 28 Days Later. Due to the utter hopelessness for the continuation of the human race, the corruption in the government continues until it is one where, “all foreigners (Africans, Middle Easterners and Eastern Europeans) are subject to mass incarceration and huge internment camps spring up along the coast. Refugees locked in cages awaiting deportation are a common sight on London’s streets, as are legions of soldiers and armed paramilitaries” (Brown 6). The society of this futuristic England is in shambles due to the government’s extreme downfall, and with the continuation of infertility, there is no hope of improvement.

In Parable of the Sower, the government is so corrupt that they are left in a state in which the police cannot be relied upon for the elimination of criminals and the vengeance of their victims. The government is no longer looked to as a solution for danger to the immediate characters in the novel. When the Lauren’s group finally gets to Bankole’s property to find it barren and without his relatives, Bankole goes to the police station for any information the police might have on the family’s disappearance. After the “sheriff’s deputies” ignore Bankole’s story and doubt his identity, they steal his money for “police services.” Lauren narrates, “I wonder what you have to do to become a cop. I wonder what a badge is, other than a license to steal” (Butler 316). The group is left without explanation and out of some money for simply trying to seek governmental guidance.

After analyzing the projected government systems in the cases of these dystopian plots, can we even be left with hope about the future of our government if a downfall in society occurs? Will ridding the world of the virus or corruption be the only problem, or will we have to worry about rebuilding the government afterwards as well? Even more disturbing, could the government be the cause for these projected dystopian issues?