'Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045': What exactly is a 'sustainable war' and how does it relate to posthumans?
Spoilers for 'Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045' Season 1
While much of the series centers around the rise of "posthumans" - technologically advanced humans with nearly godlike omniscience and control over anything that has a signal - but it's also set up against an important political backdrop that's based on the concept of "sustainable war." What exactly is sustainable war, exactly, and what does it have to do with the posthuman threat the show is centered on?
For those unfamiliar with the 'Ghost in the Shell' franchise, it's worth taking a look back at the history of war in this hypothetical future. The world has managed to get themselves as far as World War IV, and while WWIV was the one responsible for the current political climate, it's World War III that perhaps had the most significant change. World War III made use of nuclear weaponry to devastating effect, shifting the balance of global power in favor of more developed nations.
USA expanded to cover most of the North American continent, into what is now called the American Empire. Japan flourished with the help of the "Japanese Miracle," a technology that was instrumental in removing the harmful radioactive fallout from nuclear bombs.
In the aftermath of World War III, the world was largely in the grip of "The Great 4", the American Empire, China, Russia and the EU. Ultra rich nations, those in power worked hard to keep that power, further developing their wealth no matter the cost to the rest of the world. This led to World War IV, which was at least blessedly free of nukes. This war really highlighted the chaos that World War III had left the world in - mercenary groups ran rampant, and military might was all dependant on just how much of an army you could afford to buy off. It ran from 2012-2024.
By 2042, however, the Great 4 had all but mastered the art of war, finding out that war was so profitable they could base their entire economy around it. By establishing a system based off of constant, controlled battle, even prices of ordinary good skyrocketed, and people in developed nations who could take advantage of the chaos profited heavily. This sustainable war system was officially put in place by an Artificial Intelligence under the code 1A84 - an obvious reference to George Orwell's 1984, which plays a significant role in the show.
In 2044, the "Global Simultaneous Default" further devalued conventional currency, making the savings of the working class all but worthless. While the upper-class profits, humanity as a whole is on a fast track to extinction under this policy, proving that "sustainable war" isn't quite as sustainable as the Great 4 would like to think.
Considering the fact that posthumans appear to be attacking fraudsters, and people of political significance, it would appear that posthumans are a rebellion against the concept of sustainable war. Their methods might be ones of extreme violence, but they are nonetheless waging their own private war against the 1%, using the considerable tools they have at their disposal.
Where mercenaries like the members of Section 9 are amongst those thrive in an environment of sustainable war, they are very much the enemy of the rising protohumans. With Togusa (Koichi Yamadera) now likely infected by the posthuman virus, it's likely that Section 9 is going to have to take another look at the posthuman cause - and whether or not they want to stand in its way.
All episodes of 'Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045' are now streaming on Netflix.
