--- title: "After the Bell: ‘Dune’, global economics and the political moment" description: "What does the movie ‘Dune’ tell us about international economics and politics? Like so many other important novels/movies, a lot more than we expect. ‘Dune’, the best-selling science fiction book of all time and now a two-part film, is particularly significant right now. I can’t help feeling it’s a little eerie that it’s become such a hit. Is there a significance here?" type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "BUSINESS REFLECTION" author: "Tim Cohen" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/tim-cohen/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-03-17-after-the-bell-dune-global-economics-and-the-political-moment/" published: "2024-03-17T21:59:48" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 841 --- # After the Bell: ‘Dune’, global economics and the political moment > What does the movie ‘Dune’ tell us about international economics and politics? Like so many other important novels/movies, a lot more than we expect. ‘Dune’, the best-selling science fiction book of all time and now a two-part film, is particularly significant right now. I can’t help feeling it’s a little eerie that it’s become such a hit. Is there a significance here? By Tim Cohen · Published 17 March 2024, 23:59 SAST ## Key points - Denis Villeneuve's successful adaptation of the complex Dune series into a film has defied previous failed attempts, showcasing a mix of political intrigue, ecological themes, and a cautionary tale against absolute power, all wrapped up in a sci-fi epic that's as thought-provoking as it is visually stunning. - Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies have been unexpected successes, with Part Two now released and Part Three likely to follow after initial financing challenges. - Dune and The Lord of the Rings share similarities in themes of coming-of-age and battling evil, but differ in their settings and philosophical roots. - Dune's political undertones reflect modern revolutionary struggles and caution against absolute rulers, drawing parallels to historical and current geopolitical dynamics. - Frank Herbert's inspiration for Dune came from ecological themes and societal issues of his time, with the narrative also reflecting on power dynamics and corruption in governance. ## Content The second of the *Dune* movies directed by Denis Villeneuve has just come out, and both of the movies have been unexpected successes. Just the existence of the movies is something of a surprise; previous attempts to make the complicated story into an intelligible film have been partial disasters. As a consequence, getting the financing for another remake was extremely difficult and Villeneuve ran out of money after *Part One*. Fortunately, his rendition was successful, so *Part Two* is now in the can and *Part Three* is likely to follow. The *Dune* series is the largest-selling science fiction book yet written … but only if you consider *The Lord of the Rings* to be fantasy rather than science fiction. The two epic series have big overlaps. Both are coming-of-age novels combined with underdog battles against great evil. But there are also very big differences; for one thing, *The Lord of the Rings* is entirely missing spaceships, which I consider a big disappointment. Or large sandworms, for that matter. Philosophically, I think *Dune* is very much a function of hippiedom, and its ambient philosophy of “the system”, control and escape. It is hard not to notice that Paul Atreides gets high plenty, has “dreams”, and sees the future. *The Lord of the Rings* is more rooted in classical and Germanic folklore. It’s hard not to notice that Aragorn II of Elessar has an impressive name and a very impressive sword. The Fellowship of the Ring battle plays out as good against evil in terms of a heroic mission. But it’s by no means revolutionary in its overall purpose. It was, after all, a kind of lyrical and symbolic retelling of the victory over fascism and Nazism after World War 2. #### **Revolutionaries** *Dune* is a different kettle of fish. In one sense, it is very political; the Fremen — which is obviously derived from Freemen spelt as badly as I occasionally do — are very much revolutionaries, trying to cast off the yoke of imperialism imposed on them to plunder their planet’s crucial resource. They are modern-day EFF supporters, surely. The “spice” is an echo, of course, of spices plundered by the Dutch East India Company and its cohorts and competitors in the 16th and 17th centuries. The spice is crucial for interstellar travel, just as oil is crucial for travel today. [YouTube video: "YouTube video"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Way9Dexny3w) It’s also an extrapolation of the modern relationship between the Gulf states and the rest of the world. Someone once told me that *Dune* is essentially a tale that inadvertently justifies Islamic jihad, with several jihadist subplots in the book. But, as you travel through the series, it’s also a warning not only against jihad but also against absolute rulers. This is one of the logical oddities of *Dune*: it happens in the era of starships, but strangely, the political system is based more or less on the fiefdoms of Europe in the Middle Ages. Odd that. Frank Herbert wrote *Dune* and lived most of his life in Washington state on the West Coast of the US. He got the idea for *Dune* after being assigned to write a magazine article about the Oregon Dunes near Florence, Oregon. There were experiments there on planting different grasses in an attempt to control the spread of the dunes. Consequently, an ecological theme comes through in the book, which was a nascent social issue at the time. Herbert was also interested in mushrooms and is thought to have experimented with psilocybin. More hippiedom. #### **Power and personalities** The other political issue of the day was Watergate, and Herbert later wrote, “All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people tend to become drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted.” And what a wonderfully modern, and ancient, idea that is. It’s also very appropriate and apposite for our current political moment. I think the economist Brad DeLong grabs the essence in a [recent blog post](https://braddelong.substack.com/p/on-frie-storieslike-frank-herberts) on *Dune*. He wrote, “Dune is the story of how Paul Atreides grows up and acquires expertise, yes. But Dune is equally the story of how Paul Atreides becomes the BOSS. And those two acquisitions of mastery have to be seen as the same and indeed have to be the same — we cannot celebrate Paul’s acquisition of strength and knowledge and capabilities from Paul’s acquisition of a position of domination. And exploitation.” The reason this is all very interesting is, I suspect, because of the way narrative trains our reflexes. A great narrative sets out an event and its consequences; it’s the “and then … and then … and then” that is so important. In setting out a consequential sequence of events, it trains us to anticipate outcomes, or at least think about step-by-step sequences and their repercussions. Through narrative, like Paul Atreides, we develop the ability to see the future. Or at least a possible version of the future. As if we were forewarned. **DM**