Pay for the Printer

"Pay for the Printer" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in Satellite Science Fiction, in October 1956.

Plot

In a war-ravaged future, humanity has come to depend on an alien species known as the Biltongs, possessed of the ability to replicate items identically – although the copies only last for a short time. When the Biltongs become decrepit, the humans are forced to rediscover the skill of building.

Interpretation

Bradley Robert Arthur Congdon makes the case that "Pay for the Printer" is a critique "of the culture of consumerism and mass production." [1] Congdon connects Dick's story to a left wing analysis of the failings of capitalism, writing that, "it is not much of a stretch to see that a Marxian idea of alienation is at work, where mankind is so alienated from its labour that the possibility of survival is hamstrung."[2]

References
  1. Congdon, Bradley Robert Arthur. "Prophet of the Postmodern: The Problem of Authenticity in the Works of Philip K. Dick" Thesis. University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, 2008. Available at http://library2.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-08072008-112806/. pg 10
  2. Congdon, Bradley Robert Arthur. "Prophet of the Postmodern: The Problem of Authenticity in the Works of Philip K. Dick" Thesis. University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, 2008. Available at http://library2.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-08072008-112806/. pg 10-11


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