SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

One of the prevalent themes of Snow Crash is the extreme commercialization that has happened to society. Throughout the novel, you see examples of corporations that really shouldn't be corporations. From the police authorities to religious faith, and everything in between, if you don't have a three ring binder, you're not worth shopping at.

How do you feel about this theme?

The concept of the Burbcalves makes sense to me. In fact, we already have them, but to a much lesser degree. We call them Gated Communities. Yes, there are a lot of rules that you have to follow in order to live in one, but in exchange you get added security, the knowledge that strangers just can't enter your neighbor hood without being checked out by security guards, and the such. But is this good on a massive, city-wide scale?

The one zone that bothers me, though, is how government has been affected by this. Is it right for the police to be a separate company, independent of any ruling body but itself? Or the military, for that matter? What happens when one military company starts taking clients away from another? How can a judicial system be impartial when one client might be paying more money than his opponent? To me, these three things need to be controlled in some way other than a three ring binder. In my view, no organization with that much base power should be available to "the highest bidder".

And the big kicker: Religion. Can it even be considered religion anymore if you have to swipe your credit card in order to get in the doors? It's more like a subscription than faith after that, something that can be canceled in it's not suiting your purpose. Or even worse, something you might not be able to afford.

What are your thoughts?

I think Stephenson does an excellent job of thinking through the thought experiment of what would happen if advocates of extreme privatization got their way. Stephenson's world in Snow Crash takes the views of extreme anti-tax conservatives such as Grover Norquist to their absurdist logical conclusions where everything that can be privatized, is.

While the opposite extreme of communism is certainly no more desirable than the world in Snow Crash, Stephenson shows us that government does have a role in society that should include defense, police protection and zoning laws at the bare minimum. Without government involvement in these areas, Snow Crash is a probable result.

Stephenson is making a similar point about religion, that extremes are undesirable. I don't want to make too bold an allusion to actual religions that exist today, but when a church becomes less about sharing a common faith, and more about instant gratification, the line between religion and corporation becomes blurred to an unacceptable degree.

The world of Snow Crash is easily an exaggerated version of what we already have, and a scary picture it is too. There's no doubt that this is capitalism gone nuts, and I don't think Stephenson is endorsing it - there's always this ironic edge to the descriptions, of people and franchises etc., that just makes it all seem ridiculous.

Some religions already do require donations from memberships as part of the "privilege" of being a "member". And the Catholic Church, in medieval times, would sell forgiveness. Nothing much has changed, really, but I don't find the novel to be all that pessimistic, oddly enough.

I think Cliff hit the nail on the head. It's a thought-experiment taken to an extreme. But then, just look at Blackwater and wonder just how far from this extreme we are.

I think some of these things are also happening more subtly, though, the way that we've commercialized everything. I know that it's by no means the norm for religious people, but look how big of a following the show-biz-like mega-churches have. They seem more like they're about selling a product called Jeeesus than they are about real religion. Just show up and pay the entrance fee and be saved!