When I originally considered writing a novel about an ironic reversal on the concept of the immigrant who makes good despite all odds—in many ways, a study on the discrimination and alienation that people feel when they are forced to seek their fortunes in foreign lands—about the last thing I expected to get was severe nationalistic criticism.
As I stated in the Introduction to Worldfarm One, the Great Empires of the past all had something in common: At some point they could not the day when they would not be Great. But the Romans, the Greeks, the British, the Russians, all declined in greatness, power and influence... some collapsed outright... and today, are remembered for their former glory, not as they are today. So it is in the story, wherein Keith Maryland escapes a collapsing United States to seek his fortune in Brazil, at a project controlled by the recently-dominant United Nations.
Yet I received the greatest criticisms from people who insisted that the United States could never fall, never collapse, never become the producer of the "wretched refuse" that would burden other countries as they burdened the U.S. at one time. And this, while the U.S. was being attacked by terrorist foes, while foreign banks were buying up our properties and credit, while our economy was failing, our products were not selling, and other countries were beginning to flex their muscle, against others, yes, but most especially against the might of America.
And at the same time, other readers attacked me for suggesting that the United Nations should and would assume role of World Government that it had coveted for so long. The U.N. was accused of being impotent, corrupt, stupid and ineffective, and therefore incapable of governing. No one commented on the incredible resistance the U.N. has had since its inception, primarily from the superpowers (like the U.S., and others of course) that refused to bend to the U.N.'s edicts, denied support when it inconvenienced them, and outright blocked their efforts in the name of sovereignty.
In the midst of all this, the issues of immigration and discrimination were whispers in a tornado of nationalism, and the stubborn refusal to recognize the fact that sooner or later, all empires fall.
But in a way, the reaction to the story parallels the situation Keith Maryland finds himself in: One man trying to make it, despite the odds of a system much larger than him, and out of his control. But he sticks it out and fights those odds, the way immigrants to the United States have done for centuries... the way men and women from far-flung places have done in other countries for millennia. It is a universal story, no matter where Keith came from, where he went, or what obstacles he found when he got there.
And while each individual story may be no more than a whisper, when combined with others like them, they create a human history with the strength and undeniable nature of a tornado.
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I was also saddened to see so little comment about the Worldfarm idea, in an age where the corporate farm-factory is being increasingly seen as a golem that will greedily consume us all. Though obviously it would be nice to be able to go back to the family farm to feed our people, it must be understood that family farms simply can't feed seven billion people and counting.
The Worldfarm concept is designed to put to use areas where profit-farming may not be possible, such as spent or arid areas, or to aid in the recovery of forests or agricultural areas. The story is based around Worldfarm One, in the Amazon area of South America, a region where deforestation by farmers and corporate entities has slashed the region's ability to recycle carbon and produce oxygen, a major part of the planet's carbon cycle. The only other Worldfarm mentioned in the story is adjacent to the Sahara desert, where scientists are presently looking at ways to try to reclaim the region for agriculture and add to the world's carbon support system, not to mention the available food supplies for a needy continent.
Although it is not directly discussed in the story, most of the crops that would be grown at such a farm would most likely be genetically modified, either for rate of growth, or resistance to disease or pests. Genetically modified foods are not popular in some parts of the world, mostly because of problems with some crops that were not properly tested before being introduced into the food chain. Genetically modified crops also tend to be controlled by patent, making it more expensive for growers to obtain the seeds, and illegal to regrow next year's crops from recovered seeds. A great deal of controversy surrounds the practice, and it could be some time before things settle into a state that is acceptable to growers, patent owners and consumers.
Putting the project into the hands of a government entity, like the United Nations, may or may not solve some of the problems associated with land recovery and genetically modified crops that we have today. No government can properly function without the cooperation of its people, and it would take the cooperation of local governments, and the local businesses and populace, to support the U.N. and their efforts. I believe the project could be a successful one, if it had that support. But based on the present state of the U.N., the mixed popularity it enjoys depending on the part of the world, and their role in providing assistance there, it is hard to guess whether or not the populations and local governments would give that support, and how much the U.N. would be able to do without it.
Of course, this story is speculative... and it would be hoped that, even if the United States suffered from its own internal problems, that the United Nations would be able to pick up the ball and, with the help of the world at large, be able to run with it.