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Concept
Riders of the Purple Wage
Summary
Riders of the Purple Wage (1967) is a science fiction novella by American writer Philip José Farmer (1918-2009). It appeared in Dangerous Visions, the New Wave science fiction anthology compiled by Harlan Ellison and won the Hugo Award for best novella in 1968, jointly with Weyr Search by Anne McCaffrey.
The title of the story is a take-off on Riders of the Purple Sage (1912), a Western novel by the American author Zane Grey. The novella contains multiple stylistic and literary allusions to James Joyce and his works; as with Ulysses (1922), it includes canonic references, journal entries, poem pieces, and standard prose, and the main character's surname is Winnegan, an allusion to Finnegans Wake (1939).
Riders of the Purple Wage is an extrapolation of the mid-twentieth century's tendency towards state supervision and consumer-oriented economic planning. In the story, all citizens receive a basic income (the purple wage) from the government, to which everyone is entitled just by being born. The population is self-segregated into relatively small communities, with a controlled environment, and keeps in contact with the rest of the world through the Fido, a combination television and videophone. The typical dwelling is an egg-shaped house, outside of which is a realistic simulation of an open environment with sky, sun, and moon. In reality, each community is on one level of a multi-level arcology. For those who dislike this lifestyle, there are wildlife reserves where they can join "tribes" of Native Americans and like-minded Anglos living closer to nature for a while. Some choose this lifestyle permanently.
Art (and art appreciation) are prominently displayed in this society. Artists receive press coverage comparable to that of today's movie stars. Hardly less glamorous are the art critics, each of whom has a pet theory about art. A critic also acts as an agent and manager, promoting the work of one or more artists, especially if their work seems to support his ideas.
Official source
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