Philip K Dick,Pohl And Kornbluth The men who the saw future .

Pohl and Kornbluth's next collaboration Gladiator At Law continued the vision of The Space Merchants with corporate lawyers instead of advertising executives as the protagonists.The book was published in 1955 at the height of Americas post war boom .However the future depicted is far from optimistic with the post war  housing developments turned into slums dominated by gangs of feral children. The population is  divided into corporate serfs or  welfare drones  with entertainment laid on in the form of gladiatorial games a prophecy which looks all too likely to come true. This vision was one in direct opposition to that for example being turned out for Americans by Walt Disney's Tomorrow Land  for example.In fact the world of the early 21st century has turned out to resemble that of Pohl and Kornbluth rather than Disney.