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The Marching Morons
Ballantine Books, 1959. Mass market paperback, 1st edition. Collects nine stories.
Kornbluth was an outstanding story writer, and his tales are still widely anthologized. Highly recommended.
Kornbluth was an outstanding story writer, and his tales are still widely anthologized. Highly recommended.
160 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1959
83 people are currently reading
1008 people want to read
About the author
C.M. Kornbluth
359 books87 followers
Cyril M. Kornbluth
grew up in Inwood in New York City. As a teenager, he became a member of the Futurians, the influential group of science fiction fans and writers. While a member of the Futurians, he met and became friends with Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl, Donald A. Wollheim, Robert A. W. Lowndes, and his future wife Mary Byers. He also participated in the Fantasy Amateur Press Association.
Kornbluth served in the US Army during World War II (European Theatre). He received a Bronze Star for his service in the Battle of the Bulge, where he served as a member of a heavy machine gun crew. Upon his discharge, he returned to finish his education, which had been interrupted by the war, at the University of Chicago. While living in Chicago he also worked at Trans-Radio Press, a news wire service. In 1951 he started writing full time, returning to the East Coast where he collaborated on a number of novels with his old Futurian friends Frederik Pohl and Judith Merril (as Cyril Judd).
He used a variety of pen-names: Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, Walter C. Davies, Simon Eisner, Jordan Park, Arthur Cooke, Paul Dennis Lavond and Scott Mariner.
Kornbluth served in the US Army during World War II (European Theatre). He received a Bronze Star for his service in the Battle of the Bulge, where he served as a member of a heavy machine gun crew. Upon his discharge, he returned to finish his education, which had been interrupted by the war, at the University of Chicago. While living in Chicago he also worked at Trans-Radio Press, a news wire service. In 1951 he started writing full time, returning to the East Coast where he collaborated on a number of novels with his old Futurian friends Frederik Pohl and Judith Merril (as Cyril Judd).
He used a variety of pen-names: Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, Walter C. Davies, Simon Eisner, Jordan Park, Arthur Cooke, Paul Dennis Lavond and Scott Mariner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
September 13, 2018
Some time in the future, a simple potter unearths "Honest" John Barlow, a real estate con man, and brings him back to life. Barlow is taken into custody by a sinister group that firmly believes:
"The actual truth is that millions of workers live in luxury on the sweat of the handful of aristocrats."
Their idea is to have Barlow come up with a plan to rid the world of that pesky 99%. But, Barlow has some plans of his own . . .
"I mean a world dictatorship with me as dictator!"
He demands construction of a palace - nothing unostentatious. He demands . . . the title of World Dictator, complete control of world finances, and the publicity campaign and historical writeup to begin at once.
"As for the emergency powers," he added, "they are neither to be temporary or limited."
As Barlow is an abrasive, unpleasant man, who takes his cues from Hitler, and refuses to work with "Negroes," you'd think someone might say NO to him, but . . .
Congress waived debate and voted by show of hands. Barlow won unanimously.
Though much of this sounds familiar in a ripped-from-today's-headlines kind of way, the story was originally published in Galaxy magazine in 1951.
Kornbluth seems to have been an interesting oddball. Check out this story from Wikipedia, told by Frederik Pohl:
Kornbluth decided to educate himself by reading his way through an entire encyclopedia from A to Z; in the course of this effort, he acquired a great deal of esoteric knowledge that found its way into his stories, in alphabetical order by subject. When Kornbluth wrote a story that mentioned the ballista, an Ancient Roman weapon, Pohl knew that Kornbluth had finished the A's and had started on the B's.
According to Pohl, Kornbluth never brushed his teeth, and they were literally green. Deeply embarrassed by this, Kornbluth developed the habit of holding his hand in front of his mouth when speaking.
That green teeth thing aside, I'll probably look for more of his work.
"The actual truth is that millions of workers live in luxury on the sweat of the handful of aristocrats."
Their idea is to have Barlow come up with a plan to rid the world of that pesky 99%. But, Barlow has some plans of his own . . .
"I mean a world dictatorship with me as dictator!"
He demands construction of a palace - nothing unostentatious. He demands . . . the title of World Dictator, complete control of world finances, and the publicity campaign and historical writeup to begin at once.
"As for the emergency powers," he added, "they are neither to be temporary or limited."
As Barlow is an abrasive, unpleasant man, who takes his cues from Hitler, and refuses to work with "Negroes," you'd think someone might say NO to him, but . . .
Congress waived debate and voted by show of hands. Barlow won unanimously.
Though much of this sounds familiar in a ripped-from-today's-headlines kind of way, the story was originally published in Galaxy magazine in 1951.
Kornbluth seems to have been an interesting oddball. Check out this story from Wikipedia, told by Frederik Pohl:
Kornbluth decided to educate himself by reading his way through an entire encyclopedia from A to Z; in the course of this effort, he acquired a great deal of esoteric knowledge that found its way into his stories, in alphabetical order by subject. When Kornbluth wrote a story that mentioned the ballista, an Ancient Roman weapon, Pohl knew that Kornbluth had finished the A's and had started on the B's.
According to Pohl, Kornbluth never brushed his teeth, and they were literally green. Deeply embarrassed by this, Kornbluth developed the habit of holding his hand in front of his mouth when speaking.
That green teeth thing aside, I'll probably look for more of his work.
August 10, 2010
C.M. Kornbluth was a talented pulp SF writer, who came up with a remarkable number of good ideas during his short life. The title story is one of the best ones. Intelligence is largely inherited, reasons Kornbluth, and stupid people tend to have more children than smart people. Ergo, the average level of intelligence will decline over time. Moreover, stupid people tend to have children with stupid people, and smart people tend to have children with smart people. Corollary: the human race will divide into a large, very stupid majority, and a small, very smart minority.
Evidently, it's as politically incorrect as can be, but I wish I could immediately point out the logical flaw in the argument. There are several stories in the series; Kornbluth gives you quite a good look at this unusual dystopia. One of the more imaginative twists is that the smart people, contrary to what one might expect, are not ostensibly in charge of society. For reasons that are never fully explained, they instead operate under cover, allowing the stupid people to believe that they are in charge. If you have ever felt that you are the only smart person in a room full of idiots, Kornbluth's fable may well appeal to you.
______________________________________________________
I am delighted to learn from David G, who knows statistics far better than I do, that Kornbluth's argument is incorrect. See his post #9 below. I have worried about this, on and off, literally for decades! Occasionally I feel that hanging around on GoodReads isn't a complete waste of time :)
______________________________________________________
I just started reading The Rising Curve , and was surprised to learn that Kornbluth's argument has been taken much more seriously than I'd imagined by mainstream psychologists. It goes back to the 19th century, and is commonly called "the dysgenic hypothesis".
Lots of respected people believed it, and some still do. But the latest research is supposed to show that it's mistaken, so David is right.
______________________________________________________
Having reached the relevant part of the book, I'm getting a better appreciation of how confused this question is. There's a guy called Richard Lynn who's been studying it for a long time. His chapter summarises his own book, Dysgenics . He makes a good case for the claim that people are really getting stupider, but we're not noticing it yet because it's masked by things like better diet, longer education and so on. I look forward to reading the criticisms in the following chapter.
To say that this stuff is a political hot potato is putting it mildly.
______________________________________________________
Now that I've read both sides of the argument, I'm convinced that Lynn and Kornbluth are wrong. It's one of those cases where you just have to do the math. More details in my review of The Rising Curve.
Evidently, it's as politically incorrect as can be, but I wish I could immediately point out the logical flaw in the argument. There are several stories in the series; Kornbluth gives you quite a good look at this unusual dystopia. One of the more imaginative twists is that the smart people, contrary to what one might expect, are not ostensibly in charge of society. For reasons that are never fully explained, they instead operate under cover, allowing the stupid people to believe that they are in charge. If you have ever felt that you are the only smart person in a room full of idiots, Kornbluth's fable may well appeal to you.
______________________________________________________
I am delighted to learn from David G, who knows statistics far better than I do, that Kornbluth's argument is incorrect. See his post #9 below. I have worried about this, on and off, literally for decades! Occasionally I feel that hanging around on GoodReads isn't a complete waste of time :)
______________________________________________________
I just started reading The Rising Curve , and was surprised to learn that Kornbluth's argument has been taken much more seriously than I'd imagined by mainstream psychologists. It goes back to the 19th century, and is commonly called "the dysgenic hypothesis".
Lots of respected people believed it, and some still do. But the latest research is supposed to show that it's mistaken, so David is right.
______________________________________________________
Having reached the relevant part of the book, I'm getting a better appreciation of how confused this question is. There's a guy called Richard Lynn who's been studying it for a long time. His chapter summarises his own book, Dysgenics . He makes a good case for the claim that people are really getting stupider, but we're not noticing it yet because it's masked by things like better diet, longer education and so on. I look forward to reading the criticisms in the following chapter.
To say that this stuff is a political hot potato is putting it mildly.
______________________________________________________
Now that I've read both sides of the argument, I'm convinced that Lynn and Kornbluth are wrong. It's one of those cases where you just have to do the math. More details in my review of The Rising Curve.
April 9, 2022
“You were blind, selfish stupid asses to tolerate economic and social conditions which penalized child-bearing by the prudent and foresighted. You made us what we are today, and I want you to know that we are far from satisfied.”
Cyril Kornbluth was a genius who learned to read at 3 and was writing his own stories by age 7. Had Karma not decreed that he drop dead at a train station at age 35, he might have been one of the greatest sci-fi authors of all time. The Marching Morons is the story of “Honest John Barlow”, a real estate agent who, due to an exotic accident at a dentist in 1988, was accidentally thrown into a state of suspended animation. He is revived centuries later only to discover that the population’s average IQ has dropped to just 45. Apparently, the Morons have bred like rabbits and now number in the billions while the Intelligentsia were a distinct minority – in fact, they were oppressed by the morons and had to work like the dickens to keep everything ticking over. Our hero, Honest John, has to come up with a plan to restore the balance. His solution? Well you'll have to find that out for yourself - but I think we should be working on it now ourselves.
The writing style is sharp and concentrated and the story line is definitely not politically correct, but it is an uproarious read. Considering this was written in 1951, Kornbluth showed great foresight or perhaps it was his bitter misanthropy that led him to pen this novelette. You will notice several phrases and concepts that have been borrowed by modern screenwriters and authors (Douglas Adams – if you weren't dead, I’d be looking at you.) An average reader could probably knock this story off in a few hours. I would suggest you read the story first and then read the brilliant Foreword by Barry Malzberg.
Overall – a mini classic. I'd give it six stars if I could.
EDIT: I have decided that this is my favourite short story of all time. (Until I find another.)
EDIT2: I have found another. Nine Last Days on Planet Earth
Cyril Kornbluth was a genius who learned to read at 3 and was writing his own stories by age 7. Had Karma not decreed that he drop dead at a train station at age 35, he might have been one of the greatest sci-fi authors of all time. The Marching Morons is the story of “Honest John Barlow”, a real estate agent who, due to an exotic accident at a dentist in 1988, was accidentally thrown into a state of suspended animation. He is revived centuries later only to discover that the population’s average IQ has dropped to just 45. Apparently, the Morons have bred like rabbits and now number in the billions while the Intelligentsia were a distinct minority – in fact, they were oppressed by the morons and had to work like the dickens to keep everything ticking over. Our hero, Honest John, has to come up with a plan to restore the balance. His solution? Well you'll have to find that out for yourself - but I think we should be working on it now ourselves.
The writing style is sharp and concentrated and the story line is definitely not politically correct, but it is an uproarious read. Considering this was written in 1951, Kornbluth showed great foresight or perhaps it was his bitter misanthropy that led him to pen this novelette. You will notice several phrases and concepts that have been borrowed by modern screenwriters and authors (Douglas Adams – if you weren't dead, I’d be looking at you.) An average reader could probably knock this story off in a few hours. I would suggest you read the story first and then read the brilliant Foreword by Barry Malzberg.
Overall – a mini classic. I'd give it six stars if I could.
EDIT: I have decided that this is my favourite short story of all time. (Until I find another.)
EDIT2: I have found another. Nine Last Days on Planet Earth
July 4, 2018
This is a rather controversial yet terrifying read. This story delves deeply into eugenics, which comes off as both outdated and fascinating.
I recommend everyone to read this story if they come across it. Kornbluth was a genius science fiction writer who would have garnered a lot more attention if he hadn't died so young. (Why is it prodigious authors must die so young...or am I being negative)?
Anyways, this is a short, disturbing read. I loved every minute of it.
I recommend everyone to read this story if they come across it. Kornbluth was a genius science fiction writer who would have garnered a lot more attention if he hadn't died so young. (Why is it prodigious authors must die so young...or am I being negative)?
Anyways, this is a short, disturbing read. I loved every minute of it.
August 8, 2022
Rip van Hynkel
When “Honest“ John Barlow, a real estate agent – that’s why he carries that “honest” in his name, it having no place in his character –, wakes up from a dentist’s anesthetization, several centuries have passed because the dentist made a botch of his job, and now John finds himself in a world that has sadly changed: The world’s population now consists of 5 billion morons with an IQ averaging 45 and 3 million people of sound intelligence who run things behind the wings in order to prevent the world from dropping into chaos. These members of the intelligentsia are truly worried because they are working their fingers to the bone, all their efforts going unacknowledged, because they would risk their lives if the “morons” found out they were so much more intelligent than they, whereas the rest of the population leads a life in leisure and luxury, multiplying merrily and thereby making the Poprob, i.e. the population problem, even worse – but for all their intelligence, they cannot come up with a solution to stop that unwholesome development. Here is where John sniffs his chance to cash in because unlike the future intelligentsia, he is driven by “vicious self-interest” and he knows a lot about the ancient past. He therefore offers to deal with the “superfluous” part of the population, and all he wants is to be made the world’s dictator in exchange for his help.
I had never read anything by C.M. Kornbluth before but since the title of the story, The Marching Morons (1951) intrigued me and since I found it quite interesting that Kornbluth never brushed his teeth in his life and taught himself to drink black coffee, which he abhorred, because he felt that a dyed-in-the-wool writer should drink black coffee, I decided to give it a try, and I can say that hardly ever have I read such a cynical story in my life. Not only does the author seem to suggest that one major problem of his time lies in the wrong kind of people breeding large families whereas the more intelligent part of the population often refrains from having children and that intelligence is something that solely depends on genes – although one can never be sure that what the characters in a story are saying is also the author’s genuine opinion – but he also has “Honest” John Barlow concoct a plan that applies strategies used by the Nazis in their plan to exterminate the Jews.
There were passages whose cynicism really appalled me but the story also shows quite convincingly how mass media cunningly initiate discourses that might serve and support government policies, which made me think of modern times even though the basic assumption, namely that intelligence is due to all nature and hardly any nurture, can be safely regarded as obsolete. Nevertheless, I have the impression that our society is characterized by a process of dumbing down – of course, that may also be Dunning-Kruger – and that this is due to various factors like the changes brought about in human interaction by social media, the effects of new media, such as the diminution of attention thresholds, and growing feelings of entitlement going hand in hand with declining frustration levels. I know, for instance, that modern computer games are designed to provide users with early feelings of achievement so that they continue playing and become exposed to the commercials integrated in these games. Our society is heading towards stultification and callousness, I’d say, but this is nothing that could be set right by eugenics – even if you were ready to employ such totalitarian means –; instead, people ought to be made aware of the value of time for themselves and each other and of the value that lies in applying your time and your untiring effort in order to develop certain skills, like playing a musical instrument or learning a language instead of relying on translating machines or acquiring living knowledge that enables you to hone your sense of judgment.
All in all, I found this short story gruesomely fascinating and well-written, and immediately uploaded some more of Kornbluth’s stories and novels on my e-reader. Something must be wrong with me.
When “Honest“ John Barlow, a real estate agent – that’s why he carries that “honest” in his name, it having no place in his character –, wakes up from a dentist’s anesthetization, several centuries have passed because the dentist made a botch of his job, and now John finds himself in a world that has sadly changed: The world’s population now consists of 5 billion morons with an IQ averaging 45 and 3 million people of sound intelligence who run things behind the wings in order to prevent the world from dropping into chaos. These members of the intelligentsia are truly worried because they are working their fingers to the bone, all their efforts going unacknowledged, because they would risk their lives if the “morons” found out they were so much more intelligent than they, whereas the rest of the population leads a life in leisure and luxury, multiplying merrily and thereby making the Poprob, i.e. the population problem, even worse – but for all their intelligence, they cannot come up with a solution to stop that unwholesome development. Here is where John sniffs his chance to cash in because unlike the future intelligentsia, he is driven by “vicious self-interest” and he knows a lot about the ancient past. He therefore offers to deal with the “superfluous” part of the population, and all he wants is to be made the world’s dictator in exchange for his help.
I had never read anything by C.M. Kornbluth before but since the title of the story, The Marching Morons (1951) intrigued me and since I found it quite interesting that Kornbluth never brushed his teeth in his life and taught himself to drink black coffee, which he abhorred, because he felt that a dyed-in-the-wool writer should drink black coffee, I decided to give it a try, and I can say that hardly ever have I read such a cynical story in my life. Not only does the author seem to suggest that one major problem of his time lies in the wrong kind of people breeding large families whereas the more intelligent part of the population often refrains from having children and that intelligence is something that solely depends on genes – although one can never be sure that what the characters in a story are saying is also the author’s genuine opinion – but he also has “Honest” John Barlow concoct a plan that applies strategies used by the Nazis in their plan to exterminate the Jews.
There were passages whose cynicism really appalled me but the story also shows quite convincingly how mass media cunningly initiate discourses that might serve and support government policies, which made me think of modern times even though the basic assumption, namely that intelligence is due to all nature and hardly any nurture, can be safely regarded as obsolete. Nevertheless, I have the impression that our society is characterized by a process of dumbing down – of course, that may also be Dunning-Kruger – and that this is due to various factors like the changes brought about in human interaction by social media, the effects of new media, such as the diminution of attention thresholds, and growing feelings of entitlement going hand in hand with declining frustration levels. I know, for instance, that modern computer games are designed to provide users with early feelings of achievement so that they continue playing and become exposed to the commercials integrated in these games. Our society is heading towards stultification and callousness, I’d say, but this is nothing that could be set right by eugenics – even if you were ready to employ such totalitarian means –; instead, people ought to be made aware of the value of time for themselves and each other and of the value that lies in applying your time and your untiring effort in order to develop certain skills, like playing a musical instrument or learning a language instead of relying on translating machines or acquiring living knowledge that enables you to hone your sense of judgment.
All in all, I found this short story gruesomely fascinating and well-written, and immediately uploaded some more of Kornbluth’s stories and novels on my e-reader. Something must be wrong with me.
December 9, 2017
At first this little story seems like your normal, every day 'man in suspended animation wakes up in the future' type of tale.
But there are disturbing elements revealed when our man from the past has this brave new world explained to him. It seems there is a Population Problem. When this phrase first showed up I wondered what it meant. Too many people on the planet? Not enough people on the planet?
Actually, yes. To both questions. And this is the beginning of creepiness. The men who found our hero Barlow are part of the intelligent group: with genius-level IQs, these millions of people keep the world up to snuff while trying to figure out what to do with the billions of idiots creating chaos all around them.
They assume that Barlow will be able to solve their problem, since they say he is part of the reason for it. Why did he not have children? Didn't he realize that if intelligent people don't have children and 'the others' do, those others would soon outnumber anyone with any smarts at all? Of course they assume he was one of the intelligent people in his own time, but was he really?
I read this story as a stand alone at Gutenberg, from the pages of the April 1951 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. But here on GR there are many more reviews for the short story collection featuring The Marching Morons as the title story. Here is the link to that book. There are some excellent reviews for it.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
The Marching Morons bothered me for more reasons than the Population Problem. It was upsetting to think that any intelligent person would have such ideas. You could insert nearly any description of people you wish into the story and there would probably be a crowd of others who would happily agree with the idea that 'they' are having too many babies, 'they' will take over the world, we must get rid of 'them'.
And there is the creepiest part of The Marching Morons. The story feels like it is describing today's world.
But there are disturbing elements revealed when our man from the past has this brave new world explained to him. It seems there is a Population Problem. When this phrase first showed up I wondered what it meant. Too many people on the planet? Not enough people on the planet?
Actually, yes. To both questions. And this is the beginning of creepiness. The men who found our hero Barlow are part of the intelligent group: with genius-level IQs, these millions of people keep the world up to snuff while trying to figure out what to do with the billions of idiots creating chaos all around them.
They assume that Barlow will be able to solve their problem, since they say he is part of the reason for it. Why did he not have children? Didn't he realize that if intelligent people don't have children and 'the others' do, those others would soon outnumber anyone with any smarts at all? Of course they assume he was one of the intelligent people in his own time, but was he really?
I read this story as a stand alone at Gutenberg, from the pages of the April 1951 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. But here on GR there are many more reviews for the short story collection featuring The Marching Morons as the title story. Here is the link to that book. There are some excellent reviews for it.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
The Marching Morons bothered me for more reasons than the Population Problem. It was upsetting to think that any intelligent person would have such ideas. You could insert nearly any description of people you wish into the story and there would probably be a crowd of others who would happily agree with the idea that 'they' are having too many babies, 'they' will take over the world, we must get rid of 'them'.
And there is the creepiest part of The Marching Morons. The story feels like it is describing today's world.
November 6, 2021
A Rip Van Winkle figure named Barlow awakes in the future to find himself in an Idiocracy. The lowest IQ people have the highest fertility rates whilst the more conscientious increasingly opt out of reproducing. Can Barlow envisage a final solution? Venus is said to be nice this time of year…
May 16, 2017
The most prescient — and chilling — of all the science fiction stories ever written, though, is “The Marching Morons,” by Cyril M. Kornbluth, first published in 1951. It should be required reading in every school on Earth. -Ben Bova
Most of the science fiction writers who presented the vision of a future with roaring scientific developments, were either ignorant or quite optimistic. Kornbluth however, seeing the trends of his time, predicted a future (and how we have lived up to his expectations) populated by cockeyed morons. They are not just unintelligent; they are contemptuous of the elite-a handful of intelligent breed working to save the world. This makes the story all the more interesting.
Most of the science fiction writers who presented the vision of a future with roaring scientific developments, were either ignorant or quite optimistic. Kornbluth however, seeing the trends of his time, predicted a future (and how we have lived up to his expectations) populated by cockeyed morons. They are not just unintelligent; they are contemptuous of the elite-a handful of intelligent breed working to save the world. This makes the story all the more interesting.
March 13, 2024
Just a "novelette" really (a new word I just learned - longer than a short story but shorter than a novella), but an apparently impactful one. The Marching Morons is often cited as the source of Mike Judge's film "Idiocracy," but I (and Wikipedia) would say it's more a case of Idiocracy "borrowing" the idea of the world population becoming moronic through lower-class over-breeding, and then taking off from there.
Most notably, Luke Wilson's "Joe" is most certainly the hero of the movie, while Kornbuth's "Barlow" is unquestionable the villain of the book. Barlow is a raging megalomaniac, racist and all-around asshole...in fact, combined with the fact that he's a real estate huckster, reading this today makes him sounds downright Trumpian:
"You don't know how close you came to losing me," he said in his first official address to the joint Houses. "I'm not the boy to haggle; either I get what I ask or I go elsewhere. The first thing I want is to see designs for a new palace for me - nothing unostentatious, either - and your best painters and sculptors to start working on my portraits and statues. Meanwhile, I'll get my staff together."
Kornbluth's writing (and political sensitivity) is passé, to put it mildly. For every semi-insightful observation he makes such as "cities are ridiculous, expensive, unsanitary, wasteful conglomerates of people who’d be better off and more productive if they were spread over the countryside," he then - within just a few sentences - offers a cringe-worthy follow up, like:
"While you and your kind were being prudent and foresighted and not having children, the migrant workers, slum dwellers and tenant farmers were shiftlessly and short-sightedly having children – breeding, breeding…My God, how they bred!”
...and that's the "good guys" speaking!
Anyway, interesting if dated story, which has been referenced numerous times over the years. "Idiocracy" of course, but also in Douglas Adams' Restaurant at the End of the Universe with its Golgafrinchan Ark full of hairdressers and telephone sanitizers; "Robocop's" gameshow catchphrase "I'd buy that for a dollar!" and, basically, the socio-economic underpinnings behind America's recent four-year flirtation with populist demagoguery.
Most notably, Luke Wilson's "Joe" is most certainly the hero of the movie, while Kornbuth's "Barlow" is unquestionable the villain of the book. Barlow is a raging megalomaniac, racist and all-around asshole...in fact, combined with the fact that he's a real estate huckster, reading this today makes him sounds downright Trumpian:
"You don't know how close you came to losing me," he said in his first official address to the joint Houses. "I'm not the boy to haggle; either I get what I ask or I go elsewhere. The first thing I want is to see designs for a new palace for me - nothing unostentatious, either - and your best painters and sculptors to start working on my portraits and statues. Meanwhile, I'll get my staff together."
Kornbluth's writing (and political sensitivity) is passé, to put it mildly. For every semi-insightful observation he makes such as "cities are ridiculous, expensive, unsanitary, wasteful conglomerates of people who’d be better off and more productive if they were spread over the countryside," he then - within just a few sentences - offers a cringe-worthy follow up, like:
"While you and your kind were being prudent and foresighted and not having children, the migrant workers, slum dwellers and tenant farmers were shiftlessly and short-sightedly having children – breeding, breeding…My God, how they bred!”
...and that's the "good guys" speaking!
Anyway, interesting if dated story, which has been referenced numerous times over the years. "Idiocracy" of course, but also in Douglas Adams' Restaurant at the End of the Universe with its Golgafrinchan Ark full of hairdressers and telephone sanitizers; "Robocop's" gameshow catchphrase "I'd buy that for a dollar!" and, basically, the socio-economic underpinnings behind America's recent four-year flirtation with populist demagoguery.
January 21, 2021
Хотя страничка на вики про Идиократию это отрицает и указывает на другие антиутопии как примеры дисгенезиса (aka вырождения), фильм прям почти дословно снят по 'Марширующим дебилам'. Фабула и сцены взяты прям целиком. И в книге дефолтное обращение к врачу-терапевту даже поточнее вышло: . А так только имена и концовку заменили. Да и концовку просто на противоположную от книги, что тоже не rocket science.
В общем, читать прикольно. И как дополнение к The Little Black Bag отлично подходит, и стиль автора становится более понятным.
Детали
* Это книга из 50х. А потому комиксы в ней показаны как чтиво для глупых. Обидно немного. Но Марвел еще не случился в Америке, так что можно понять.
* Ироничные сцены аварий из-за глупости есть и в книге. Просто они менее абсурдные, чем машины падающие прямо с моста в пропасть в фильме. Зато в книге есть куда более смешно показанная операция по спасению затонувшего корабля.
* Ну и в книге нет чисто MTVшного шоу, где главный герой получает по шарам. Но зато есть другое шоу, которое в фильме перекочевало в тест на IQ для главного героя.
* Самый шик и смелость, конечно, в общей идее и ее подаче. То, что концепт смотрится актуально спустя 50 лет в Идиократии (где просто логотипы на современные заменили) — это победа Корнблута. В книге на меня сильнее всего подействовало, когда
* Твист про то, что
* Ну и наконец это первая книга в подкасте с указанием на исторический контекст и реалии. И это прям сильно выделяет ее среди остальных.
* Ламповая фантастика: тачки все еще делают из хрома, а кино стало не только в 3D, но еще и с запахами.
Я прочитал эту книгу для обсуждения на подкасте про научную фантастику «Худо Не Было». Послушать можно тут: https://share.transistor.fm/s/4705edac
В общем, читать прикольно. И как дополнение к The Little Black Bag отлично подходит, и стиль автора становится более понятным.
Детали
* Это книга из 50х. А потому комиксы в ней показаны как чтиво для глупых. Обидно немного. Но Марвел еще не случился в Америке, так что можно понять.
* Ироничные сцены аварий из-за глупости есть и в книге. Просто они менее абсурдные, чем машины падающие прямо с моста в пропасть в фильме. Зато в книге есть куда более смешно показанная операция по спасению затонувшего корабля.
* Ну и в книге нет чисто MTVшного шоу, где главный герой получает по шарам. Но зато есть другое шоу, которое в фильме перекочевало в тест на IQ для главного героя.
* Самый шик и смелость, конечно, в общей идее и ее подаче. То, что концепт смотрится актуально спустя 50 лет в Идиократии (где просто логотипы на современные заменили) — это победа Корнблута. В книге на меня сильнее всего подействовало, когда
* Твист про то, что
* Ну и наконец это первая книга в подкасте с указанием на исторический контекст и реалии. И это прям сильно выделяет ее среди остальных.
* Ламповая фантастика: тачки все еще делают из хрома, а кино стало не только в 3D, но еще и с запахами.
Swept-back lines, deep-drawn compound curves, kilograms of chrome.
He caught the tail-end of The Canali Kid in three-dimensional, full-color, full-scent production.
Я прочитал эту книгу для обсуждения на подкасте про научную фантастику «Худо Не Было». Послушать можно тут: https://share.transistor.fm/s/4705edac
March 6, 2016
This very dark, very prophetic tale of the future, where human intelligence has dropped to about 45, is one that I can recommend to those who like their science fiction on the grim side. John Barlow, a man from the twentieth century, is woken from a coma hundreds of years in the future. A good deal of history has been forgotten, and the intellectual elite are trying to cope with an ever growing problem -- the title of the book. I'll stop there, you'll find out if you decide to read this. It's not for the sensitive, as there are some racially charged moments -- evidently the 1950's could handle what would now be very politically incorrect. About four stars, with some caveats.
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.mylot.com/post/2900411/rev...
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.mylot.com/post/2900411/rev...
December 25, 2014
A chilling but important story. I remember reading this years ago. This is what happens when the intelligent producers of everything used are overrun by the morons who demand to use them. "Would you buy it for a quarter? Ha, ha, ha, ha!"
It is not a pleasant outcome but an important warning.
It is not a pleasant outcome but an important warning.
July 30, 2025
Superior reviewers have already debated the factuality of the title story’s thesis, that the dumbs seem to breed faster than the smarts, so I’ll merely add that it feels true, and that this is a great story, in a collection of really good stories. The last tale (the Remorseful) is almost equally wonderful. It’s a pity he didn’t live long enough to write more stories and really blossom in the post-pulp world of full length novels.
June 22, 2017
'Idiocracy,' but darker
If you've read the publisher's blurb about this story, you can't help but see the similarity to the film 'Idiocracy.' I have no idea if Mike Judge was familiar with "The Marching Morons," but in both you have a population that has declined as the more educated put off having children (if they have them at all), while the less educated around the world are reproducing exponentially. Add a few hundred years to the mix, and you have dystopia, rather than a technological utopia; the intelligent minority are not revered, but virtually enslaved as they take on the responsibilities to keep the world running.
But while 'Idiocracy' was a wonderful comedy with mild-mannered Joe suggesting a simple way to help the population merely survive, "The Marching Morons" puts a self-centered, self-interested, amoral real estate man in the future, who is willing to solve the "moron problem" as long as he can secure his personal power and glory in the process. If this were published today, it would be decried in some circles as a tasteless satire that goes too far. As it was written more than 70 years ago, it appears that the dumbing of society is not a new problem, just one that manifests in new ways.
Whether or not you're looking for any lessons or warnings that may apply to our present condition, "The Marching Morons" is well written, and a quick and enjoyable read. It's a relic from sci-fi's golden age that holds its own against contemporary fiction, and should reward any reader for his time.
If you've read the publisher's blurb about this story, you can't help but see the similarity to the film 'Idiocracy.' I have no idea if Mike Judge was familiar with "The Marching Morons," but in both you have a population that has declined as the more educated put off having children (if they have them at all), while the less educated around the world are reproducing exponentially. Add a few hundred years to the mix, and you have dystopia, rather than a technological utopia; the intelligent minority are not revered, but virtually enslaved as they take on the responsibilities to keep the world running.
But while 'Idiocracy' was a wonderful comedy with mild-mannered Joe suggesting a simple way to help the population merely survive, "The Marching Morons" puts a self-centered, self-interested, amoral real estate man in the future, who is willing to solve the "moron problem" as long as he can secure his personal power and glory in the process. If this were published today, it would be decried in some circles as a tasteless satire that goes too far. As it was written more than 70 years ago, it appears that the dumbing of society is not a new problem, just one that manifests in new ways.
Whether or not you're looking for any lessons or warnings that may apply to our present condition, "The Marching Morons" is well written, and a quick and enjoyable read. It's a relic from sci-fi's golden age that holds its own against contemporary fiction, and should reward any reader for his time.
March 25, 2014
This classic sci-fi novelette from the 1950s is fully as savage as Jonathan Swif's "A Modest Proposal" -- in which he recommends, tongue in cheek, that the Irish population problem could be solved by eating Irish babies. C M Kornbluth in The Marching Morons sees the whole world as inhabited by billions of retards in control of a few million people of normal or better intelligence.
Honest John Barlow is a creature from the past who was anesthetized for a dental operation using an experimental drug that essentially mummified him without killing him. When a man from the future comes upon his body, he knows exactly what to do to resuscitate him. Barlow is taken to the city, where he comes up with an idea to make the moronic population thinking they are going to the planet Venus. Actually, they are being disposed of according to principles laid down by Nazi death camps.
This is not a nice book. Kornbluth was no doubt thinking dark thoughts about his fellow Americans, but he cannot help being grimly humorous at times. This is a quick read and something of a classic.
Honest John Barlow is a creature from the past who was anesthetized for a dental operation using an experimental drug that essentially mummified him without killing him. When a man from the future comes upon his body, he knows exactly what to do to resuscitate him. Barlow is taken to the city, where he comes up with an idea to make the moronic population thinking they are going to the planet Venus. Actually, they are being disposed of according to principles laid down by Nazi death camps.
This is not a nice book. Kornbluth was no doubt thinking dark thoughts about his fellow Americans, but he cannot help being grimly humorous at times. This is a quick read and something of a classic.
March 22, 2016
Wow is Kornbluth a pessimist of the human condition... either that or he's been watching reality TV and the current political scene. Oh wait this was written in the 50s. He was a prophet.
The tale is that of a future world - we're not sure just how future. It's a bit like Idiocracy in that the idiots are the dominant part of the race. The intelligent people labor almost like slaves to keep things going. Basically the tale is an Ayn Rand tale where the 'prime movers' are more like slaves to their brilliance rather than masters of all. Enter a man from the past, frozen through centuries by a freak accident and he comes up with a plan to reduce the population of morons and save humanity.
Hitler would be proud of this guy's plan.
It's dated in style, seeing as it was written in 1951 but a fun read. Know all that dystopian literature out there right now? This is the grand daddy of them all. It's dark and twisted. The main character is a power mad racist with delusions of grandeur.
BTW if you loved the movie Robocop the phrase "I'd buy that for a dollar" came from a line oft repeated in this story.
Man I gotta go turn on the presidential primaries and compare notes to current reality.
The tale is that of a future world - we're not sure just how future. It's a bit like Idiocracy in that the idiots are the dominant part of the race. The intelligent people labor almost like slaves to keep things going. Basically the tale is an Ayn Rand tale where the 'prime movers' are more like slaves to their brilliance rather than masters of all. Enter a man from the past, frozen through centuries by a freak accident and he comes up with a plan to reduce the population of morons and save humanity.
Hitler would be proud of this guy's plan.
It's dated in style, seeing as it was written in 1951 but a fun read. Know all that dystopian literature out there right now? This is the grand daddy of them all. It's dark and twisted. The main character is a power mad racist with delusions of grandeur.
BTW if you loved the movie Robocop the phrase "I'd buy that for a dollar" came from a line oft repeated in this story.
Man I gotta go turn on the presidential primaries and compare notes to current reality.
April 23, 2018
Simple, 50's sci-fi pulpy style, but with a clever concept - in the far future, humanity is overcome with morons after millennia of low IQ people breeding more prolifically than intelligent folk.
November 21, 2017
A sense of humor, overpopulation, quick scene changes, bleak.
November 18, 2018
Kornbluth - he saw the future.
June 26, 2021
cool, the first Idiocracy scenario story - his solution doesnt exactly seem feasible though.
February 13, 2009
Social satire that eerily resonates the denigration of our modern culture through technological advancement. The titular story inspired the Mike Judge film, IDIOCRACY, a movie shelved for a very long time because the studios deemed it "too stupid" for audiences. The main argument of THE MARCHING MORONS and IDIOCRACY by-proxy is that the people with sub-normal intelligence are outbreeding those of average-to-above-average intelligence, and that this trend has broad social implications. Mainly, that the masses of people will be overfed, oversexed and oversaturated with media influence and consumer culture. The ideas in this singular story (the decline in intellectual discourse, dissent as unpatriotic, a media shaped culture) are ideas that are horrifyingly accurate to what is going on in our modern culture. If anything, IDIOCRACY, by embracing Kornbluth's conclusions, was TOO SMART for the movie going public. Or, at least too insulting. And definitely too real.
FIVE STARS for brilliant satire wrapped in clever sci-fi.
FIVE STARS for brilliant satire wrapped in clever sci-fi.
November 3, 2014
In the distant future, 5 Billion moronic earthlings live in luxury while 3 Million intelligent earthlings make the enterprise work and are virtual slaves. Enter reanimated "current day" huckster "Honest" John Barlow who is told the planetary dilemma by one of the smart folks who asks him if he has a solution to the problem. Barlow has a solution to everything and anyone. Quick and something different. I really enjoyed it.
October 2, 2013
I really liked this story about the possible future if we continue to dumb down society. I am a big fan of anything that doesn't have a happy ending, and this certainly didn't disappoint there.
It is easy to see that Idiocracy was inspired by this short. If only stupid people would become aware of these potential problems and stop breeding...
It is easy to see that Idiocracy was inspired by this short. If only stupid people would become aware of these potential problems and stop breeding...
September 23, 2021
Morons on the march? It must be an election cycle.
November 1, 2023
The story is free on Project Gutenberg:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/sear...
The Marching Morons by C. M. Kornbluth
Read in
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two
Oct 2023
This is my opinions about the short story (not the collection)
After having read The Little Black Bag The Marching Morons was one of the reason I picked up The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two.
What an.... interesting read. The political incorrectness is spectacular and very refreshing.
The world is a caricature but far from unrealistic. Some aspects are execrated. There is no way a world of five billion with an average IQ of 45 can work this well. Even if it is the old IQ-scale (where >150 is genius) an average of 45 is extremely low. The majority of these people would be unable to tie their shoe laces. Literally.
“The simple-minded morons cannot be left to govern themselves or else the world will descend into chaos and war. “ War, I doubt. War requires organisation and goals.
Some reviewers here write that regression towards the mean makes Kornbluth's argument is incorrect. That is not correct. Imagine that there are 4 people: A pair with IQ 50 and a pair with IQ 150. The IQ 50-pair get 5 children with IQ 55, 60, 73, 80 and 87 (all regressing towards the mean). And the IQ 150 pair get one child with IQ 130. If they and had the same amount of children (and intermarried) they would slowly populate all of the IQ bell-curve. While the 2 x50 and 2 x 150 had an average IQ of 100, the next generation have one that is lower. And the next... So even with regression towards the mean Kornbluth's argument is correct.
The Flynn effect seems to have ended in first world societies, so Kornbluth's argument is still relevant.
Other observations:
“The shop windows were—shop windows (1). People still wore (2) and bought (3) clothes, still smoked (4) and bought tobacco (5), still ate (6) and bought food (7). And they still went to the movies (8),... The place seemed to be showing a triple feature (9), Babies Are Terrible, Don’t Have Children, and The Canali Kid. It was irresistible; he paid a dollar (10) and went in.”
Kornbluth likely though these where obviously timeless truths. Even now, just 70 years later:
Mostly false: 4, 5, 9, 10
Partly true: 1, 8
Mostly True: 2, 3, 6, 7
Physical shops closing, tobacco next to banned, triple feature (what is that?), for a dollar.... That is actually a little scary that so many obviously timeless truths fell so fast.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/sear...
The Marching Morons by C. M. Kornbluth
Read in
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two
Oct 2023
This is my opinions about the short story (not the collection)
After having read The Little Black Bag The Marching Morons was one of the reason I picked up The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two.
What an.... interesting read. The political incorrectness is spectacular and very refreshing.
The world is a caricature but far from unrealistic. Some aspects are execrated. There is no way a world of five billion with an average IQ of 45 can work this well. Even if it is the old IQ-scale (where >150 is genius) an average of 45 is extremely low. The majority of these people would be unable to tie their shoe laces. Literally.
“The simple-minded morons cannot be left to govern themselves or else the world will descend into chaos and war. “ War, I doubt. War requires organisation and goals.
Some reviewers here write that regression towards the mean makes Kornbluth's argument is incorrect. That is not correct. Imagine that there are 4 people: A pair with IQ 50 and a pair with IQ 150. The IQ 50-pair get 5 children with IQ 55, 60, 73, 80 and 87 (all regressing towards the mean). And the IQ 150 pair get one child with IQ 130. If they and had the same amount of children (and intermarried) they would slowly populate all of the IQ bell-curve. While the 2 x50 and 2 x 150 had an average IQ of 100, the next generation have one that is lower. And the next... So even with regression towards the mean Kornbluth's argument is correct.
The Flynn effect seems to have ended in first world societies, so Kornbluth's argument is still relevant.
Other observations:
“The shop windows were—shop windows (1). People still wore (2) and bought (3) clothes, still smoked (4) and bought tobacco (5), still ate (6) and bought food (7). And they still went to the movies (8),... The place seemed to be showing a triple feature (9), Babies Are Terrible, Don’t Have Children, and The Canali Kid. It was irresistible; he paid a dollar (10) and went in.”
Kornbluth likely though these where obviously timeless truths. Even now, just 70 years later:
Mostly false: 4, 5, 9, 10
Partly true: 1, 8
Mostly True: 2, 3, 6, 7
Physical shops closing, tobacco next to banned, triple feature (what is that?), for a dollar.... That is actually a little scary that so many obviously timeless truths fell so fast.
December 21, 2018
Here’s what you need to know:
A jack of all trades man by the name of Hawkins is digging for some materials in a hillside when he discovers a plate. On the plate is an inscription. It tells about how a man in 1988 (this story was written in the 1950’s) went to visit his dentist and by some freak accident with the drill, he was put into suspended animation. In 2003, he basically was a statue and given to a museum of some sort.
Hawkins proceeds to awaken this man (he knows a method to do so) and when he does, we find out what kind of person he is.
His name is Barlow and he was (or still is) a sort of real estate seller. Hawkins calls up someone to pick up this past man and see if he can help with their problem which they call Poprob (population problem).
In this future (they call it the year 7-B-936) the average IQ is 45 and all the average joes have been breeding more average joes. The problem is that they outnumber the smart people. Remember when I said that Hawkins was a jack of all trades? Well. All the smarter people in the world have to do all sorts of jobs to keep the moronic majority in check. They are the slaves to the morons.
The idea of eugenics is very prominent in this story (Barlow is also racist, even though he denies it). It’s an idea that has been explored throughout many stories. Even so, this author does a good job of examining it.
There isn’t many characters in this story, but there doesn’t really need to be. What it lacks in characters is made up in the interesting story.
I also enjoyed how the ending fits in for what’s going on in the rest of the tale. I recommend this story.
A jack of all trades man by the name of Hawkins is digging for some materials in a hillside when he discovers a plate. On the plate is an inscription. It tells about how a man in 1988 (this story was written in the 1950’s) went to visit his dentist and by some freak accident with the drill, he was put into suspended animation. In 2003, he basically was a statue and given to a museum of some sort.
Hawkins proceeds to awaken this man (he knows a method to do so) and when he does, we find out what kind of person he is.
His name is Barlow and he was (or still is) a sort of real estate seller. Hawkins calls up someone to pick up this past man and see if he can help with their problem which they call Poprob (population problem).
In this future (they call it the year 7-B-936) the average IQ is 45 and all the average joes have been breeding more average joes. The problem is that they outnumber the smart people. Remember when I said that Hawkins was a jack of all trades? Well. All the smarter people in the world have to do all sorts of jobs to keep the moronic majority in check. They are the slaves to the morons.
The idea of eugenics is very prominent in this story (Barlow is also racist, even though he denies it). It’s an idea that has been explored throughout many stories. Even so, this author does a good job of examining it.
There isn’t many characters in this story, but there doesn’t really need to be. What it lacks in characters is made up in the interesting story.
I also enjoyed how the ending fits in for what’s going on in the rest of the tale. I recommend this story.
October 18, 2019
This is not a prediction. This is a satire.
It follows the format of a Juvenalian satire, made most famous by Dean Swifts, A Modest Proposal.
In the novella, Kornbluth exaggerates the contemporary criticisms leveled at "the migrant workers, slum dwellers and tenant farmers were shiftlessly and short-sightedly having children." He supposes a future where the poor and uneducated have then outbred the intelligent so now 99% of people are morons.
Thats the satire. The real biting critique of 1951 society is written through the main character John Barlow, a 20th century man who ends up in the future.
He is litigious: I'll sue you for every penny you've got!
He is a conman: I sold ten thousand acres of Siberian tundra—through a dummy firm, of course—after the partition of Russia. The buyers thought they were getting improved building lots on the outskirts of Kiev.
He is greedy: "You want money?" asked the potter. "Here." He handed over a fistful of change and bills. "You'd better put my shoes on. It'll be about a quarter-mile. Oh, and you're—uh, modest?—yes, that was the word. Here." Hawkins gave him his pants, but Barlow was excitedly counting the money.
He is racist: Barlow didn't take the hand. "I thought you looked pretty dark. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I don't think I'd be at my best working with you. There must be somebody else just as well qualified, I'm sure."
The 20th century man is therefore unqualified to evolve into a ruling meritocracy.
It follows the format of a Juvenalian satire, made most famous by Dean Swifts, A Modest Proposal.
In the novella, Kornbluth exaggerates the contemporary criticisms leveled at "the migrant workers, slum dwellers and tenant farmers were shiftlessly and short-sightedly having children." He supposes a future where the poor and uneducated have then outbred the intelligent so now 99% of people are morons.
Thats the satire. The real biting critique of 1951 society is written through the main character John Barlow, a 20th century man who ends up in the future.
He is litigious: I'll sue you for every penny you've got!
He is a conman: I sold ten thousand acres of Siberian tundra—through a dummy firm, of course—after the partition of Russia. The buyers thought they were getting improved building lots on the outskirts of Kiev.
He is greedy: "You want money?" asked the potter. "Here." He handed over a fistful of change and bills. "You'd better put my shoes on. It'll be about a quarter-mile. Oh, and you're—uh, modest?—yes, that was the word. Here." Hawkins gave him his pants, but Barlow was excitedly counting the money.
He is racist: Barlow didn't take the hand. "I thought you looked pretty dark. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I don't think I'd be at my best working with you. There must be somebody else just as well qualified, I'm sure."
The 20th century man is therefore unqualified to evolve into a ruling meritocracy.
July 28, 2021
The Marching Morons is about a man who is preserved in time. Hundreds of years later, Hawkins is able to revive John Barlow. Soon Barlow discovers the Problem on Population. New babies just kept being born, but none of them had any intelligence. Technology was also extremely advanced which removed the need for people to actually use their brain. Everyone had become a moron except for a few intelligent people who were keeping the world together.
The elite knew they needed to find a solution, but weren’t able to. Barlow has a history of scamming people and thought of a solution. If the only way to fix this was to kill off some of the population, then they should convince people to get on a spaceship to Venus and kill them once they couldn’t be seen. They convinced people by making Venus seem like a tropical paradise, and sent fake messages of people who were already “living an amazing life” there.
At the end of the story, even Barlow was sent on one of the spaceships. As it turns out, the elite didn’t like him very much. While this story was short it didn’t make me feel like something was missing. It gave us a lot of details and didn’t make it seem to speed up. However, the outcome of everyone being sent to their death was morbid.
A question I would have to ask is, would this be a permanent solution? Nobody actually grew their intelligence, and the same problem could occur all over again. Will they just keep killing more and more people? My favorite part of the book is when Barlow dies because it is a twist in the story. It shows how easily people can turn on you.
The elite knew they needed to find a solution, but weren’t able to. Barlow has a history of scamming people and thought of a solution. If the only way to fix this was to kill off some of the population, then they should convince people to get on a spaceship to Venus and kill them once they couldn’t be seen. They convinced people by making Venus seem like a tropical paradise, and sent fake messages of people who were already “living an amazing life” there.
At the end of the story, even Barlow was sent on one of the spaceships. As it turns out, the elite didn’t like him very much. While this story was short it didn’t make me feel like something was missing. It gave us a lot of details and didn’t make it seem to speed up. However, the outcome of everyone being sent to their death was morbid.
A question I would have to ask is, would this be a permanent solution? Nobody actually grew their intelligence, and the same problem could occur all over again. Will they just keep killing more and more people? My favorite part of the book is when Barlow dies because it is a twist in the story. It shows how easily people can turn on you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2024
I only include this because I have read the one short story: The Marching Morons, and not the whole book.
Poor Mr. Barlow. He only went to his dentist and ended up being frozen alive for centuries. A problem with the anaesthetic - best not to ask, for legal reasons. He is woken up centuries later in a world in which the educated elite has become the downtrodden, overworked proletariat supporting the idle, unintelligent, but very numerous, plebs.
A bit of anti-immigrant propaganda and an awful lot of "aren't poor people stupid, and therefore dangerous," twaddle feeds the plot. Barlow is the pleb made good through greed and acquisitive instinct in our time, which makes him just the man for a worn-out and angry intelligentsia to use against their work-shy, semi-literate masters. There is more than a hint at the notion that advertising is unstoppable and all-powerful when it comes to influencing the thoughtless.
Make the proletariat believe there is a work-free paradise on Venus and they can go there free - that is part of Barlow's megalomaniacal plan of self promotion - then kill them. Kornbluth points out the similarities with the Nazi extermination camps. But does it all work? Who knows? The story ends with Barlow learning that intelligent people stack the deck just as adeptly as any lumpen card-sharp.
Poor Mr. Barlow. He only went to his dentist and ended up being frozen alive for centuries. A problem with the anaesthetic - best not to ask, for legal reasons. He is woken up centuries later in a world in which the educated elite has become the downtrodden, overworked proletariat supporting the idle, unintelligent, but very numerous, plebs.
A bit of anti-immigrant propaganda and an awful lot of "aren't poor people stupid, and therefore dangerous," twaddle feeds the plot. Barlow is the pleb made good through greed and acquisitive instinct in our time, which makes him just the man for a worn-out and angry intelligentsia to use against their work-shy, semi-literate masters. There is more than a hint at the notion that advertising is unstoppable and all-powerful when it comes to influencing the thoughtless.
Make the proletariat believe there is a work-free paradise on Venus and they can go there free - that is part of Barlow's megalomaniacal plan of self promotion - then kill them. Kornbluth points out the similarities with the Nazi extermination camps. But does it all work? Who knows? The story ends with Barlow learning that intelligent people stack the deck just as adeptly as any lumpen card-sharp.
October 20, 2019
Like it a lot. Read it a few years ago and picked it up again recently — and due to my failing memory, the stories were only slightly familiar. Fun read in that each story was very different than the last.
I'd forgotten how at least one major theme (or truth!) of the title story, "The Marching Morons," echoes a big theme of Mike Judge's film "Idiocracy" — stupid people having a lot of children and dooming civilization. Neat! Wonder if Judge read this story.
The only story that disappointed was the last one in the volume, "The Remorseful." Seemed like it was going somewhere but never got there. Kornbluth's description of the hive-like mind of the insects making up the Visitors seems like a very advanced concept for the era in which it was published, but what do I know, I'm not an expert on the history of science-fiction. But that short story was kind of a letdown after going into such great and fascinating detail describing how these beings exist. That was much more interesting than whatever commentary he was making of an apocalyptic future and the dystopian future of earth — which ends the story a bit abruptly.
I'd forgotten how at least one major theme (or truth!) of the title story, "The Marching Morons," echoes a big theme of Mike Judge's film "Idiocracy" — stupid people having a lot of children and dooming civilization. Neat! Wonder if Judge read this story.
The only story that disappointed was the last one in the volume, "The Remorseful." Seemed like it was going somewhere but never got there. Kornbluth's description of the hive-like mind of the insects making up the Visitors seems like a very advanced concept for the era in which it was published, but what do I know, I'm not an expert on the history of science-fiction. But that short story was kind of a letdown after going into such great and fascinating detail describing how these beings exist. That was much more interesting than whatever commentary he was making of an apocalyptic future and the dystopian future of earth — which ends the story a bit abruptly.
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