The Marching Morons

E871839

"The Marching Morons" is a classic 1951 science fiction short story by Cyril M. Kornbluth that satirically depicts a future society overwhelmed by mass stupidity and the ethical dilemmas of an elitist solution.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
The Marching Morons canonical 3

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf satirical work ⓘ
science fiction short story ⓘ
author Cyril M. Kornbluth ⓘ
centralTheme class division ⓘ
elitism ⓘ
ethical dilemmas ⓘ
eugenics ⓘ
mass stupidity ⓘ
overpopulation ⓘ
technocracy ⓘ
countryOfOrigin United States ⓘ
depicts a small intelligent elite managing a vast unintelligent majority ⓘ
explores consequences of long-term dysgenic trends ⓘ
moral responsibility of intellectual elites ⓘ
firstPublishedIn Galaxy Science Fiction ⓘ
form prose fiction ⓘ
genre dystopian fiction ⓘ
satire ⓘ
science fiction ⓘ
hasAlternativeClassification novelette ⓘ
hasCulturalImpact frequently cited in discussions of intelligence and social policy in science fiction criticism ⓘ
hasMoralQuestion Is it justifiable to commit mass murder to "improve" society? ⓘ
hasSubject mass media manipulation ⓘ
propaganda ⓘ
social engineering ⓘ
hasTitleCharacter John Barlow ⓘ
influenced later dystopian satire about mass media and stupidity ⓘ
language English ⓘ
literaryMovement Golden Age science fiction ⓘ
mainCharacter John Barlow ⓘ
medium magazine ⓘ
narrativePerspective third-person narration ⓘ
notableFor controversial depiction of eugenic ideas ⓘ
darkly comic tone ⓘ
early exploration of the "idiocracy" concept ⓘ
originalLanguage English ⓘ
originalPublicationType short story ⓘ
originalPublisher Galaxy Science Fiction magazine ⓘ
linked to: Galaxy Magazine
periodOfStoryPublication post–World War II era ⓘ
plotSummary A time-displaced con man proposes a genocidal solution to a future world overrun by unintelligent masses. ⓘ
protagonist John Barlow ⓘ
publicationDecade 1950s ⓘ
publicationYear 1951 ⓘ
settingTime far future ⓘ
targetAudience adult readers ⓘ
tone cynical ⓘ
darkly humorous ⓘ
satirical ⓘ
wordCountApproximate novelette length ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Cyril M. Kornbluth → notableWork → The Marching Morons ⓘ
Cyril M. Kornbluth → notableWork → The Marching Morons ⓘ
subject linked to: Kornbluth