Locked in Society

Are we all held by society? Is society our golden cage? Within we can move freely. But can we ever break free? We're blessed with ignorance as Moorcock said it so well: is the prisoner a prisoner because he lives in a cage, or because he knows he lives in a cage? Accordantly, do we all know we live in a place called society? This society question was also tackled many times by Vonnegut (see previous postings). The Bester novels 'The Stars My Destination' and 'The Demolished Man' are both inbedded in a strict society. Here are some Bester quotations to consider:

* A man is a member of society first, and an individual second. You must go along with society, whether it chooses destruction or not.

*The man who upsets the morphology of society is a cancer. The man who gives his own decisions priority over society is a criminal.

Needless to say that I myself want to disagree with the above. But then again, maybe I am naive.