The Ministry for the Future

The Anthropocene is a new and somewhat controversial descriptor for the present geologic age, one in which human activities that began during the Industrial Revolution have made sometimes irreversible changes to climates and habitats, leading to climate change. Many characters in the novel accept that some of these changes—such as mass extinctions—cannot be undone, but they do believe that a “good Anthropocene” (474) beginning with the Paris Climate Accords in 2015, can stave off further destruction of nature and people who depend upon it for survival.

Blockchain is a set of records that are encrypted, distributed, and stored across many databases. Blockchain serves as the backbone of digital currencies, such as carbon coin, because it doesn’t need a central government to determine its value or keep records of it; anyone can see these records. In addition, any currency transactions recorded via blockchain are such that the source of currency is always traceable because those records cannot be changed once they are stored. Mary and the ministry use blockchain as a tool to encourage uptake of carbon coin and to end the free movement of untaxed money by people profiting from carbon-emitting activities. Blockchain is thus one of the technological tools the ministry uses to end capitalism.