From Resource Extraction to Algorithmic Governance: A
Colonial Ecocritical Study of Playground by Richard Powers
Hadia
Sarfraz,
College Teacher
Internee,
Govt. Graduate
College for Women,
Jahanian, Punjab,
Pakistan.
Abstract: This paper discusses Playground (2024) by Richard Powers
in terms of colonial extraction and neocolonial environmental exploitation by
taking the sub-themes of artificial intelligence and plastic waste as the new
modes of imperialism. The novel unveils the existence of colonial extraction
logics within digital and technocratic regimes that claim to be neutral and
efficient. The AI-based government becomes an alternative new form of colonial
rule that governs the environment remotely, instead of ruling it directly as
was done earlier. In conjunction with this, plastic is one of the storage sites
of imperial histories of consumer capitalism and imperial circulation as an
archival material. This production of garbage in the islands and the oceans
reflects previous mining activities, converting the marginalized areas to
sacrifice zones. Playground reveals the unequal distribution of environmental
destruction and its historical construction through the connection of
ecological destruction and neocolonial structures of power.
Keywords: Colonialism, Neocolonialism, Ecocriticism, AI
Introduction
Ecocriticism is a relatively new
concept that first appeared in the 1990s literary theory and cultural studies.
William Rueckart originally used the word ecocriticism in his article Literature
and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism (1978) in order to focus on the
application of ecology and ecological principles to the study of literature.
According to Cheryll Goltfelty (1996)
ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the
physical world. As a result, ecocritics evaluate artistic creations based on
the relationship between humans and nature. Ecocriticism prominently focuses on
raising awareness of environmental issues and responsibility among people
because of the fact that environmental sustainability is crucial to human
existence on Earth.
The dialogue between colonialism and environmentalism has
been initiated by Rob Nixon in his essay Environmentalism and Postcolonialism,
anthologised in the volume Environmentalism and Postcolonialism (2005).
Nixon’s confused interpretation of the terms "environmentalism" and
"postcolonialism" is prompted by environmental activism and the
opposition to colonial environmental exploitation in the former colonised
African, Asian, and Latin American nations (Nixon 233). Postcolonial nations
face marginalization in ecological practices, underrepresented in the global
South. Despite colonialism's end, cultural and economic domination persists,
with limitations and contradictions.
The term neo-colonialism was coined
by the French philosopher Jean- Paul Sartre in 1956. It was first used by Kwame
NKrumah, a Ghananian politician, in the context of African countries undergoing
decolonization in the 1960s. Kwame Nkruma views the transition to a 'neocolonial'
situation as the last stage of imperialism, perpetuating colonialism through
globalization and capitalism. This perpetuates economic inequalities and
complicates the relationship between the economically privileged and the
underprivileged, complicating postcolonial discourses. Neocolonialism is
defined by Matthew G. Stanard in his 2018 book European Overseas Empire,
1879-1999: A Short History as the continuance or imposition of
imperialist control by a state, often a former colonial power, over another
state, typically a former colony that is ostensibly independent.
Neocolonialism is seen as a continuation of colonialism
in postcolonial states relies on the expansion of capitalism. The ongoing
crises in emerging and underdeveloped economies make the climate catastrophe
more complicated from an intra-human perspective. The goal of the neocolonial
system, which implies economic exploitation, is to promote a consumer culture
by objectifying both human and nonhuman beings. Furthermore, the colonial powers'
implementation of "extraction ecologies" is another way that the
unequal human interaction is demonstrated (Miller 29).
Industrial Revolution, economically underdeveloped
nations have been colonized by their natural resources, leading to
resource-cursed society where the environment is subjected to poisonous gases
and carbon concentration, hurting the ecosystem and ruining local population’s
livelihoods. (Nixon 30) Modern environmental theory has been characterized by
the rise of so-called modernising ecologists, proposing increased and
smaller-scale reforms within global capitalism to help avoid climate disaster
without stopping economic growth, but socialist as well as deep ecologists
believe that these tactics cannot work, because schemes like the paperless
office, fuel economy have actually increased consumption and energy consumption
instead of reducing its effects (Foster, Clark, and York 7-9).
Playground
(2024), the fourteenth book by the well-known American author Richard Powers,
is set in French Polynesia. The island of Makatea in French Polynesia, a
historical location that was formerly colonised by France and exploited via
heavy phosphate mining, a practice that destroyed its environment and
epitomised the colonial extraction. Playground (2024), intertwines the
lives of four characters Todd Keane, Rafi Young, Evelyne Beaulieu, and Ina
Aroita. The novel examines the conflicts between human ambition and ecological
fragility with a focus on the alluring promise and danger of technological
innovation, the ocean's metaphysical depth as both environment and
consciousness, and the lasting effects of colonial and neocolonial dynamics in
seascape transformation. Playground (2024) is a meditation on human
connectedness and a warning allegory about dominion and care in an era of
rapidly expanding technology and ecological disruption. Powers creates a novel
that evokes both emotional resonance and intellectual inquiry through his
careful prose and multi-layered storyline.
This research looks at neocolonialism and and its impacts
on ecosystem of Makatea, a French Polynesian island in the novel Playground (2024),
and how these effects influence the lives of the locals. It also looks at how
patterns of control and extraction from the physical world are carried over into
the digital sphere by artificial intelligence, which is emerging as a modern
instrument of consumerism and neocolonialism. Using this perspective, the study
draws attention to how Playground (2024) intersects cultural
displacement, ecological deterioration, and technological dominance.
Colonial Extraction of Resources
Playground (2024) by Richard Powers is a smooth, non- linear
narrative and a story of personal tragedies, cultural myths, environmental
issues, technology and colonial practices. The story centers around Makatea, a
small French Polynesian island on which the phosphate deposits used to nourish
the world, which is a historical way to describe the hideous colonial mining
that scraped the island down to fertilizer to use on other lands. Powers
inserts the childhood of Todd Keane in Chicago, a tech billionaire, and his
friend-rival Rafi Young, a gifted programmar. The third one is Inna Aroita, a
South Pacific-based sculptor. Alongside them, is Evelyne Beaulieu, an
adventurous diver and an oceanographer. These four characters arrived Makatea
to join a floating cities project. Power’s oceanic tale combined and narrated
as a braid that alters both the time, space and focalization. The movement of
Playground in the early part of the century seems like a narrative of a
coming-of-age story.
Powers makes a clear connection between Makatea’s
colonial past and the present, strengthening this neocolonial perspective.
Initially, Richard Powers depicts the Makatea as a location where colonial
extraction history reenacted under the pretence of progress and consumerism. In
Playground, Makatea’s past is clearly presented as an external colonial fate
that was imposed long before the island's residents had any real control over
their land or future. Makatea presented as a phosphate rich area and “the
foreign joint venture came ashore in 1911 to take the magic rock. (Powers 31)
which was an important colonial commodity because of its necessity in
manufacturing of fertilizer which drove industrial agriculture in Europe and
other imperial centres. As Frantz Fanon defines “colonies as source of raw
material which, once turned into manufactured goods” (Powers 81) Environmental destruction is the most
obvious example of colonial exploitation. Firstly Makatea is narrated as
ecologically rich “reefs, soaring cliffs, and spectacular caves…” (Powers 31)
however, the discovery of phosphate renders this biodiversity worthless. In
order to mine the island heavily, forests were devastated, Indigenous people
were uprooted, and exploited labour was brought in from all around Asia and the
Pacific. Phosphate provided temporary wealth, yet Makatea gains infrastructure
but also suffers. “miners succumbing to lung disease and children dying from
contaminated water,”(Powers 31) revealing imperial prosperity’s hidden price.
Closing of mines
in 1966 illustrates the abandonment that follows colonisation. Makatea is
abandoned when extraction is no longer profitable: “Makatea capsized when the
phosphate mines closed.”(Powers 32) The island as a boat metaphor highlights
social and ecological breakdown, emphasising that colonization leaves behind
irreversible harm rather than ending with departure. Colonialism was centred on
the exploitation and manipulation of nature, which had long-lasting effects on
people and cultural landscapes in addition to the environment. Huggan and
Tiffin (2015) argues that postcolonial studies are beginning to recognize the
close relationship between environmental problems and European colonial
aspirations for global supremacy and conquest. The racial and imperialist ideas
that have supported colonial expansion are the root cause of these ecological
worries. Because they were seen to be a part of nature, indigenous communities
were frequently handled instrumentally, much like animals.
Neocolonial Power and Environmental Governance through AI
Playground rejects any story of emancipation or recovery,
even when official colonial extraction finally comes to an end. Makatea enters
a postcolonial state marked by economic reliance, ecological devastation and
abandonment. The indication of an approaching catastrophe recalls the image of
stories of ecological collapse seen in many postcolonial settings, as resource
extraction results in environmental damage and cultural legacy loss. There is
local government in name but not in practice. This situation is best shown by
Didier Turi’s position as mayor, where he has symbolic authority but no access
to knowledge, experience or the ability to make decisions. Important agreements
are signed without local permission and subsequently attributed to it, such as
memoranda of understanding with foreign investors.
Neocolonialism appears in Playground through governance
methods like as legal contracts, environmental evaluations, development rhetoric,
and multinational alliances rather than armed occupation. Mayor Didier is shown
in this novel, outlining a plan by Californian investors to transform Makatea
into a floating city building project to attract tourists. The sleek
advertising trail entices the islanders to dream of a better future by
showcasing an ideal, environmentally friendly utopia that blends futuristic
construction with the archaic Pacific way of life. “He began by reading a
formal statement by the Californians that included commitments to the number
and types of jobs that would be created, salary ranges for each category, and
specs for the assembly facilities that would be built around the port”(Powers
268).
A new phase in the island's history of external
dependency begins when the majority of residents support seasteading and the
first opulent boat is launched into the ocean. As Powers said that “the humans
had voted against themselves”(328). The proposed Makatea project by the
American consortium is a prime example of how authority functions through
documentation and delay, portraying resistance as untimely and choices as
already taken. Importantly, the initiative is portrayed as development rather
than an invasion. Colonialism achieved its desired aims through development
projects. As Huggan and Tiffin (2015) critique “developmentality,” an ideology
that serves colonial interests and causes long-lasting environmental damage by
justifying environmental degradation in the name of economic expansion. They
argue that the colonial and neocolonial narrative of "development"
is, at best, a kind of strategic altruism in which the self-described First
World primarily uses financial and technical assistance to advance its own
political and economic objectives (28).
AI in Playground is a consumerist instrument as well as a
tool of narration. Richard Powers display the extension of the same colonialism
and capitalism logics, into digital and ecological world, through technology
and, specifically, artificial intelligence. Todd Keane enters his life history
into Profunda, a computer memory archiver. This machine mediates his memories,
choosing, organizing and thus telling them in the future. In this regard, AI is
more like colonial archives: it keeps the narratives, but always in a filter that
supports some voices instead of others. As according to Bender et al.(2021)
dependence of AI on statistics is completely distorted by capitalism ethics and
Eurocentric ideals.
AI Profunda and
the Playground App offer to monitor global risk, optimize conservation tactics
and model ecological futures. Despite being presented as ground-breaking
instruments, these technologies work via abstraction and distance, turning
intricate ecosystems into data sets. The process of remembering and human
cultural memory is substituted with machine storage. This is like the way
colonizers used to dominate the writing and presentation of history in a
neocolonial approach. A technological rationality on Makatea Island presents
data about floating cities environmental and economic impacts through
AI-generated information and chatbots. Although the dissemination of
information seems democratic, the chatbot conversations reflect the investor’s
worldview, diminishing the islander’s traditional ecological expertise rooted
in cultural connections to their environment.
The Makatea seasteading project is presented as an
endeavour where artificial intelligence has essentially taken over,
highlighting the way in which technology automation has replaced human agency
and action. As Manutahi Rao explained to Didier Turi “No human lifted a finger
over this entire journey. The machine is doing everything. He just sits on
deck, looking at the waves”(Powers 339). All aspects of the process, from
planning to execution, are managed and depersonalized by AI systems, doing away
with the human component that formerly characterized earlier forms of
capitalism and colonial exploitation. Even the yacht captains, who were
formerly considered to be emblems of wealth, status, and transnationalism, are
now robots who have been trained to act as mechanical embodiments of global
capitalism. The elimination of human empathy, accountability, and
responsibility in colonial processes is shown by robots serving as boat
captains. They implement preprogrammed orders, establishing a totalitarian,
impersonal system of governance that embodies post-human colonisation.
Playground exposes neocolonialism as a modern ecological
system rather than a remnant of the past through its portrayal of environmental
governance. Instead of eliminating colonial hierarchies, technologies like AI
Profunda and the Playground App digitalize and globalize them. By separating
sustainability language from historical accountability, postcolonial
ecocriticism enables us to observe how imperialism continues under the pretence
of planetary care.
Plastic as Imperial Archive
Richard Powers
presents a novel reassessment of colonial authority in Playground by focusing
on what remains after the apparent end of empire rather than conquest,
administration, and extraction. The novel’s frequent focus on abandoned items
floating in the water is the most powerful way to express this theme. Plastic
in Playground is a colonial material, not only a source of pollution. It bears
the mark of global systems that were initially structured by imperial trade
routes and subsequently strengthened by consumer capitalism. Once a route for
colonial ships carrying goods, labour, and phosphate, the ocean is today a
conduit for garbage that follows similar routes. In this way, plastic retraces
the paths of empire, but in the other direction: waste moves from the centre
back into colonial and postcolonial areas rather than resources moving from the
colony to the centre.
A very disturbing scene in Richard Powers Playground is
when Inna Aroita and her daughter find the corpse of a dead albatross lying on
the shore of the island. On further observation, they realize that the belly of
the bird does not contain fish or natural remains but pieces of plastic waste
bottle tops, wrappers, and other man-made trash swept over the ocean by the
consumer culture of today. Distressed, the two carefully remove the plastic
from the bird's stomach and bury the body, calling it “death by plastic”
(Powers 12). Huggan and Tiffin (2015) argue that “the effects of colonialism on
the environment are mostly detrimental, and they can result in the displacement
of not only humans, but other living beings as well” (99). It is a powerful
ecological metaphor rather than merely an instance of environmental observation.
The albatross is a traditional representation of liberty,
endurance, and the force of nature, but it is also a victim of industrial
modernity and the global consumer culture. Its decline illustrates how human
garbage can infiltrate even the most distant environments. The bird’s gut,
which served as a feeding area, is transformed into a trash can, emphasizing
how unbridled consumerism and technological advancements transform the
conditions of life into those of death. Similar to how foreign administration,
economic systems, and cultural standards were imposed on regions by colonial
powers, plastic is an unnatural, alien substance that penetrates both the
natural world and human activity.
Inna collected, “many trinkets of trash washed up on the
island every day” (Powers 130). Like other types of imperial legacies, plastic
"trinkets" are not local; rather, they are imported, nonbiodegradable
relics of industrialized economies that endure throughout time and space.
Plastic functions as Nixon defines Slow Violence (2011) “a violence that occurs
gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed
across time and space”(2).
Ina Aroita,
creates a sculpture from plastic trash on Makatea. The sculpture symbolizes the
tension between local traditions and imported cultural narratives, and
Makatea’s struggle to reclaim its waste. Aroita, a Pacific Islander, feels
uprooted in her colonized islands and the exploitation of her culture by
colonization and tourism. Her use of cobalt-blue paint to ruin her sculpture
highlights the difficulty of opposing western capitalist logics while creating
them. Ina’s sculpture reflects the struggle of displaced people to navigate
between memory, myth, and neocolonial modernity, highlighting the impact of America
on regional ecosystems and cultures.
Conclusion
Playground is a
strong argument on how colonial extraction has transformed into neocolonial
governance by use of technology, consumer capitalism and environmental
management. The novel illustrates how formal empire still exists in AI systems
that purport to know everything about the planet but are still not part of
local lives and eco-systems. This physical dominance to an algorithmic control
enables exploitation to proceed in the guise of sustainability, efficiency and
global good. The process of environmental destruction in the novel was not
happen by accident; it is the immediate consequence of the systems aimed at
value extraction and damage externalization to the vulnerable spaces and
communities. Plastic waste, specifically, functions as a colonial archive, a
material record of imperial trade routes, excessively consuming, and
environmental neglecting. Its survival in oceans and islands is a sign of the
prolonged postmortem empire, where garbage is the new export instead of raw
goods to the ex-colonies. Through his association of AI governance and
ecological harm, Powers shows that technological solutions tend to conceal
greater inequalities instead of addressing them. Finally, Playground encourages
the readers to acknowledge environmental crisis as a historical and political
issue, which has its origins in the colonial and neocolonial authorities that
are still felt in modern world.
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