1963.

[LWolf]

That's when the novel this is snipped from was published.

"Christ, back in Chicago, we don't make bicycles any more. It's all human relations now. The eggheads sit around trying to figure out new ways for everybody to be happy. Nobody can get fired, no matter what; and if somebody does accidentally make a bicycle, the union accuses us of cruel and inhuman practices and the government confiscates the bicycle for back taxes and gives it to a blind man in Afghanistan."

"And you think things will be better in San Lorenzo?"

"I know damn well they will be. The people down there are poor enough and scared enough and ignorant enough to have some common sense!"

--Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Cat's Cradle

No link; it's from my hard copy, with original book jacket still on it. I'm re-reading this old favorite; I was on this page this morning, and it made me stop reading and spend some time contemplating the world I've lived in. I was 3 years old when this book came out.

[2ndAmForComputers]

1. Haven't read the book.

Context? Are unions really depicted as that evil?

[dogknob]

2. Think "Brazil..." Then read the book

[LWolf]

3. Context:

The protagonist meets H. Lowe Crosby on the way to an island with a checkered past, where he is going to interview one person, hopes to meet another, and finds his world view. The quote is from H. Lowe Crosby, the bicycle manufacturer looking for a place to outsource his business.

Unions aren't depicted as evil, except by this vision of the world to come expressed by Crosby.

[bemildred]

4. Mr. Vonnegut lived through the Dresden bombings.

He knew the score. I'm very fond of "God Bless You, Mr Rosewater" too.