What the novel is about
The year is 2075 and the fight for equality has found a new target. A radical movement for justice has declared war on the unequal distribution of beauty, claiming that attractive women have too long enjoyed unearned privileges in both their personal and professional lives. “Beauty is Ugly” and “Beauty is Unjust” serve as the rallying cries of this movement that emerged from academic discourse, but has gone on to win a majority within the “Justice Party.”
After the Justice Party comes to power, it begins to implement its policies to remedy the “beauty bonus”. It all starts with the imposition of higher taxes and strict access restrictions for universities. However, the radicals eventually prevail with their demands for a surgical procedure to make “overly beautiful” women, branded as PBs (“Privileged Beauties”) less attractive (“Optical Optimization Therapy”).
This sparks individual turmoil and hopelessness, but it also ignites a fierce resistance. An opposition emerges, drawing support from disparate groups, including the women’s movement, libertarians, and Christian churches.
The beautiful student Alexa and the journalist Riven resist the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship. The stakes are high, as their adversaries are willing to resort to violence to achieve their vision of an egalitarian society. In the tradition of classic dystopian novels such as 1984 and Atlas Shrugged, this gripping tale serves up a thrilling and topical reckoning with society’s dangerous obsession with equality. At the same time, it is a heart-pounding thriller, delving into the perils of a society that views inequality as a crime.
Ken Schoolland is an American economist, libertarian activist, and author best known for “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible,” translated into more than 60 languages, about the book:.
„Rainer Zitelmann’s novel exposes the pervasive trends in mass envy that have been experienced everywhere and throughout history, with alarming regularity. Where will autocratic envy take the world if unchallenged? Zitelmann offers numerable, tantalizing, and alluring arguments for „social justice“ that one can hear on any university campus or political campaign trail and follows them to the logical conclusion of a collectivist society that is capable of crushing individuality and turning virtue into vice. The story is very well written and credible, pulling together a multitude of advances in AI, space exploration, and telecommunications all within the context of very real characters, contemporary scenarios, and philosophical debates. It is set 50 years in the future, but feels eerily close considering the recent exponential advances in technology and the deadly abuses of social media. Nevertheless, Rainer Zitelmann shines a path for courageous individual freedom for any era.“
