Learning the World

I've been Learning the World and finding it a fun read, if not too serious: anything with giant alien space bats in it isn't asking to be taken at face value...

The thing that really struck me is how drenched the book is in market economics. It's been pointed out to me that this is a function of the novel being a piss-take of Robert A Heinlien; but my thoughts on initially reading it was to contrast it with HG Wells; his novels are as drenched in socialism as Learning the World is with market capitalism. It leads me to the obvious conclusion that modern SF will probably date in the same way. In a hundred years time the economics and politics will easily be the most anachronistic of elements in the SF of the current day. Either because laissez-faire capitalism will be taken to it's logical extreme and the the currently-considered-mad position that all taxation is essentially insurance will be realized and the state will vanish as we disappear into the insurers maws and regulation becomes a thing of the past, or it will be replaced and discredited as utterly as communism was...

1 Comments:

Hi John,

I was looking for a review of Learning the Word and came across your site, I was basically googlewacking my own name and somehow the two crossed! Long story...

Now I'm thinking that you are possibly my cousin who I haven't met for well over twenty years. Are you Peter Connors' son and from a family that originated in Mallaig? You might remember me, Duncan or my elder brother Andrew.

Give us an email at duncanconnors@hotmail.com if you are a) my cousin and b) anyway because I still want a review of the sodding book.

Later,

Dunc.

By  Duncan Connors, at 12:42 pm  

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