You've probably seen this before. It's an excerpt from the 1961 episode of the Twilight Zone that depicts a dystopian future where the continued existence of all citizens is conditional upon their proven utility to the State.
It is a great cautionary tale in its own right, but I also find it significant because it demonstrates the change in the culture. When it aired in 1961, popular culture still had these warnings about authoritarian statism. They served as cultural touchstones and common points of reference. Ideas permeate into a population more effectively through things like this than through rote academic training, though we don't even have that anymore either.
It seems like the closest depictions modern pop culture has, movies like The Hunger Games, are implicitly tempered by a "Well, we do have too many people; we are destroying the planet; we are a plague upon the Earth" apology. I don't gather that people are exposed, through entertainment, to overarching ideas on the dangers of the State. Not particular States, but the whole concept of a State period.
The Obsolete Man (BEST)
