# Subversive explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Mack Reynolds.

## What happens

Frank Tracy, an agent of the Bureau of Economic Subversion, investigates and shuts down Freer Enterprises, an organization that sells unbranded, cheap goods to undermine the US economy. He interrogates its leaders, including Adam Moncure and Frederic Flowers, who openly advocate for collapsing the current economic system of planned obsolescence and wasteful advertising. Tracy's team raids their headquarters near Woodstock, Illinois, to stop the spread of their subversive operations.

## Themes in this chapter

### Power and Corruption

The Bureau of Economic Subversion uses secret police tactics to suppress economic dissent, revealing the corrupt enforcement of a wasteful system.

### Rebellion and Revolution

Adam Moncure and Freer Enterprises attempt a radical economic rebellion by selling unbranded goods to collapse the consumer economy.

### Technology and Alienation

Automated soap plants and planned obsolescence highlight how technology is used to create wasteful jobs and alienate workers from meaningful production.

## Character check-ins

### Frank Tracy

Field agent for the Bureau of Economic Subversion; leads the investigation and raid on Freer Enterprises.

### LaVerne Polk

Tracy's secretary/assistant; coordinates communications and team assembly.

### Pavel Zotov

Tracy's bureau chief; approves the raid and is briefed on the crisis.

### Adam Moncure

Founder of Freer Enterprises; openly admits to undermining the US economy.

### Frederic Flowers

Executive of Freer Enterprises; interrogated by Tracy about the organization's subversive goals.

## Key lines

> A full three quarters of our employed working at nothing jobs, gobbledygook jobs, non-producing jobs, make-work jobs, red-tape bureaucracy jobs.

Moncure claims that 75% of workers are employed in pointless, unproductive roles.

_Moncure's critique of the US economy's reliance on make-work jobs._

> Our soap doesn't even have a name, not to mention an advertising budget. Far from spending fortunes redesigning our packaging every few months in attempts to lure new customers, we don't package the stuff at all.

Warren Dickens explains that Freer Enterprises sells unbranded soap without advertising or packaging to drastically reduce costs.

_The core business model of Freer Enterprises: selling generic goods to bypass the advertising and distribution system._

> I am devoting my whole fortune to this cause. And there is nothing in American law that prevents me from following through with my plans.

Moncure declares he is using his wealth to undermine the economy, believing his actions are legal.

_Moncure's defiance and belief in the legality of his subversive economic activities._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_36_se/chapters/subversive
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_36_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_36_se/chapters