A Momentous Meeting On The Coral Sea

Poul Anderson, Harvest Of Stars, 12, Database.

Database chapters are flashbacks:

10 is to Anson Guthrie's bodily life well before 2018;

11 is to Kyra Davis' time as a student;

12 is to Guthrie's life some time after 2018 before he has made his fortune and while the Renewal movement is rising in what, politically, is still the United States, not yet North America.

Guthrie and Juliana Trevorrow, whom he will do business with and marry, meet on a schooner on the Coral Sea. See image.

Guthrie is a conservationist but not an environmentalist. The Renewal is "'Environmentalism run amuck.'" (p. 135) Guthrie classifies "'eco-fascism'" as one side of "'fascism'" which he identifies with "'purtitanism'" (p. 136) This is a misuse of "fascism."

Guthrie, in his own word, "rants." The Renewal, apparently, will:

stop nuclear power, making people shiver in winter;
use coal, polluting the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, carcinogens and radioactivity;
use expensive and inadequate solar units;
ban plastic that could be made recyclable;
use paper, turning forests into monoculture plantations;
tax and regulate all but the biggest corporations out of business;
protect consumers from themselves by taxing and eventually banning alcohol, tobacco and junk food;
indoctrinate children (doesn't that happen already?);
tax fuel excessively;
discourage joyriding and comfortable house temperatures;
make medicines difficult to access (?);
enforce proportional employment of men, women, transsexuals, ethnic minorities and the disadvantaged;
have educational quotas not only for the bright, literate and hard-working but also for the "'...mentally special...'" (pp. 136-137);
ban books containing "'...insensitive remarks...'" (p. 137);
persecute anyone guilty of "'...wrong talk...'" (ibid.)

That is quite a rant. Might I comment on some items without defending the Renewal?

When I was in public employment in Britain, there was an "Equal Opportunities" policy, not a quota system. It was known that some (many?) members of minorities, assuming that they would not be employed, would not even apply - a self-fulfilling prophecy. To counteract this, they were encouraged to apply. The vacancy was advertised as "Equal Opportunities" and it was explained what this meant. A three-person interviewing panel would ask the same questions of each candidate. Each member of the panel would place a numerical assessment beside each answer received. The assessments were totaled. An appointment was made on the basis of the highest score. The job had to be offered to the best qualified and most suitable candidate, whatever his or her gender, ethnicity etc. Unsuccessful candidates could request feedback. Shown how their answers had been inadequate, they were able either to improve their performance at their next interview or to apply for more suitable employment elsewhere. If anyone alleged discrimination, then the allegation had to be taken seriously and investigated without prejudicing the outcome of the investigation. I benefited from this system, having not prepared properly for interviews. A black colleague who suspected discrimination when applying for a higher-paid post was satisfied when he was shown how his answers had been unsatisfactory.

Surely tobacco and junk food must be discouraged?

Special educational needs should be addressed without denying college places to the able. Education is one service that should never be restricted or rationed.

A World War II thriller by Dennis Wheatley, written both as fiction and as propaganda during the War, alleged that the Germans were less intelligent as evidenced by the shape of their heads! This book should not be republished without a footnote and a disclaimer of racist views by the publisher.