Frederik Kornbluth's The Space Merchant

The Space Merchant is a science fiction novel written by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth. The book displays the future of the city and society in a dystopia prospect. Dystopia is the future that we fear and want to avoid. It views the world as the place full of danger where oppression and human misery happen. (Cite) The Space Merchant addresses many possible problems that can happen in the future such as inadequate resources, privatization, and segregation. In the book, the advertising agencies overpower the government and serve as the most powerful and influential institution in the country. Even though the city has many innovative technology such as an express elevator, it is lack of the most basic elements of life like water and fuel. To escape the scarcity problem, Fowler Schocken advertising agency is trying to colonize the planet Venus, which has been proved for human settlement, and exploit its resources for human
In the book, privatization and surveillance are what people always concern about. For instance, during a meeting at Fowler Schocken, Harvey asks: “Excuse me, Mr. Schoken, Has security checked this room?” (Cite P.5) This example illustrates that overtime people are more concern about their privacy. They are worry that they have been watched and it won’t be a safe place for them to express their thoughts about a certain subject. As a result, they have to watch their behavioral to avoid any conflict. Moreover, people also fear a process of surveillance in community. For example, Mitch fears that someone working alongside with him at the Chlorella Corporation could report his communications with the Consies (Cite Assessment). He is afraid that if someone in the community reports him, then his plan will be ruined. This type of report is an example of community surveillance. These examples reflect how privatization and surveillance affect people’s behavior