case of Butler’s work

case of Butler’s work

President Donner is the ideal unrestrained politician who flourishes in a corrupted system of governance. As more people become frustrated by the corrupt government, they abandon their civic duty of electing their political leaders. When elections are held, Lauren notes, “Dad decides not to vote for Donner after all. He didn’t vote for anyone. He said politicians turned his stomach” (Butler 26). Although Lauren does not narrate other political failures in the past that led her father to hate politicians, it is evident corruption or the use of political offices for personal gain is facilitated by the country’s neoliberal economic plans. In a just society, there should be safeguards to prevent one political leader from dominating the whole system. A government structure that facilitates corrupt persons to govern a nation without accountability breeds corruption and gives power to injurious leaders to thrive at the expense of the general populace. In the case of Butler’s work, it permits a corrupt president to build up pervasive capitalism that nurtures inequity in society.

In Butler’s book, society is constrained by its inflexibility. Instead of adopting new practices or laying strategies for the future, they continue with their old methods. Through Lauren’s lens, we find out that President Donner is chosen because he appealed to what is sentimental to the older generation. Continuous election of a corrupt and non-progressive leader who maintains the status quo, the harsh, archaic system thrives. Rigidity and conservatism lead to the disintegration of the social structure that is borne out of state policies that trickle down to affect the society at the lowest level. Lauren talks about society’s hopelessness when addressing the existing political system after the presidential election. In Lauren’s words, “things are changing now, too. Our adults haven’t been wiped out by a plague, so they’re still anchored in the past, waiting for the good old days to come back” (Butler 57). The adults are living in the past, and they cannot make any progress as demanded by their current needs. They continue to hold onto their past beliefs and traditional religion, which are outdated. In the book, Butler utilizes traditional religion to reveal the circumstances in which it has a progressive or retrogressive influence on society. Butler shows the hazards of an authoritarian religion in upsetting the social structure.

The reader gets to see the extreme social division that exists in Lauren’s community. The walls separate not only the village from the other but also one social class from another. They segregate people who have the means to live within the walls from those who cannot afford to live inside them. The communities residing outside are weak and are the lower class. People outside the walls live in desperation and result in using crude means of survival; without morals, it is survival for the fittest. Danger lurks outside the walled communities d and people are subjected to heinous crimes, including rape, murder, and violent robbery. People living within the walls are representative of the middle class, and they live in fear of those living outside the walls. Fear gives rise to xenophobia, and there is mistrust between the communities, each viewing the other as an impediment to their development.

Parallels can are evident from the novel to what is happening in our society today, from xenophobia in South Africa to white nationalism in the United States. People have permitted negative state forces to grow unchecked in society. The effect of these forces is trickling down to communities, and they are causing divisions and mistrust. Election of right-wing leaders with neoliberal policies that are nurturing inequality and causing division in the present-day capitalist society is on the rise. The election of President Donald Trump can be equated to that of President Donner in Butler’s novel. President Trump was elected on the premise of restoring jobs and providing more freedoms by adopting neoliberal policies (Schwartz 293). The resultant effect is a growing middle class and subjugation of the lower class, especially immigrant communities.

Conclusion

In the book, Butler offers her readers an investigation on the fundamental reasons that lead to fractured social structures. Butler also proposes some workable solutions that can help in maintaining an equitable society. The novel acts as a warning into what will transpire if inequity is allowed to continue thriving among communities.

Through Lauren, Butler’s main character she nudges us to look into the future, with optimism. Additionally, she calls us into arms to oppose the destruction of our society instead of being passive observers. As she implies in her book’s title, we shall reap what we sow. As a modern society, we have the chance to build a just and equitable society by rejecting unsustainable policies and embracing unity and progressive policies.