Bester's 1956 Novel Predicted That Breakthrough Technologies Could Deepen Inequality, Not Erase It

Alfred Bester's "The Stars My Destination" imagined a 25th-century society where universal teleportation—a technology that should have liberated human movement—instead entrenched new hierarchies. The wealthy built "jaunte-proof" fortresses while economic barriers kept the poor grounded. Worth flagging: Bester's framework now offers analytical tools for understanding contemporary risks around AI and genetic engineering. As these technologies move from lab to market, his core insight—that transformative power often concentrates rather than distributes—remains urgent for policymakers and technologists designing toward equity.