I'm giving 1951's 'The Marching Morons' five stars not because I like the story, but because it's stuck in my mind for decades -- thanks to that copy of 1973's The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two I got from the Science Fiction Book Club.

This is a similar dystopian future Earth to the one in 'The Little Black Bag'. Instead of a doctor's bag from the future arriving in the present, a 20th century real estate developer named 'Honest' John Barlow is awakened from accidental suspended animation in the future.

The 3 million brilliant humans are vastly outnumbered by 5 billion humans with an average IQ of 45, which means they are moderately mentally disabled. They keep breeding and breeding, and the so-called brilliant humans haven't figured out mass birth control that doesn't require the stupid to do anything. The smarties hope that John Barlow can help them with the population problem.

John Barlow does. As he demands, he becomes World Dictator. The problem is solved and John Barlow has his reward.

There are some bits demonstrating what entertains the stupid masses that were interesting. The intelligent people are not all white, which is nice -- although it gives us an opportunity to see that Barlow is a bigot. Probably the nicest thing one may say about Barlow is that he seems genuinely sorry to have outlived his second wife, Verna.

Notes: Marshall Field's was a department store in Chicago from 1852 until it, and its other stores, were taken over by Macy's in 2006. As for Jack Ketch, he was an infamous 17th century English executioner known for botching his work. ( )

One of Kornbluth's many story collections, as usual some of the stories better than others. His title stories for such colections are usually the best in the book. ( )

Written with all the subtlety of a kick to the head, full of classism, and elitism and sexist even for the time it was written.

Influential book for understanding the genre but not an enjoyable read. ( )