The Marching Morons

In a future where intelligence has become a dangerous rarity, mediocrity reigns supreme.

When ordinary potter Efim Hawkins accidentally revives Honest John Barlow—a slick, sharp-witted man preserved from centuries past—Barlow awakens to a society in catastrophic decline. Overpopulation has exploded. Education has collapsed. The average intelligence has plummeted. And the masses, countless and unquestioning, march forward under a system that rewards ignorance and conformity.

Where others see chaos, Barlow sees opportunity.

Armed with intellect, charm, and ruthless pragmatism, he rises quickly through this broken world, manipulating a population unable—or unwilling—to think for itself. But beneath the satire lies a chilling question: when intelligence becomes power, who deserves to wield it?

Originally published in the early days of science fiction’s Golden Age, The Marching Morons is a sharp, unsettling satire that skewers anti-intellectualism, unchecked population growth, and the seductive danger of believing oneself smarter than the crowd.

Brilliant, cynical, and uncomfortably prophetic, C. M. Kornbluth’s classic novella remains as provocative today as when it first shocked people in the 1950s.

Narrated by John Riddle, this audiobook delivers biting humor and dark insight with clarity and edge—an essential listen for fans of classic dystopian science fiction and social commentary.