Vulcan's Hammer

Vulcan's Hammer is a less rewarding PKD novel than his better known work, but still an entertaining read on the pitfalls of technocracy and rational bureaucratization. The "iron cage of rationality" under the Unity world government (which feeds data to Vulcan 3, a computer that is sentient, to administer world government after a series of wars devastated the planet) has led to backlash in the form of a world movement (partly organized by an earlier model of the computer/AI) known as the Healer Movement, led by the charismatic Father Fields. Although this novel does provide an example of the limitations of technocracy, it also acknowledges the potential limits of charismatic and other sources of authority from non-bureaucrats. In the end, it's not clear who really 'won' since Vulcan 3 was sentient and acting in the interests of self-preservation against forces which were also willing to use any means possible to achieve their end. However, the novel does suggest a possible alliance with technocracy and democratic forms of governance as Barris, the protagonist (and a typical Dick hero, a bureaucrat who is unhappy in the larger organization he is a part of, struggling to find something close to "reality"), works out a compromise with Fields to salvage parts of Vulcan 3 to aid in the post-revolutionary government. Technology, and the technocrats, have a place in the future, but only as long as manual labor is equally valued and all have a voice besides members of the vast Unity bureaucracy. Needless to say, the development of advanced AI capable of destroying the world is also to be avoided, since it will act in the interests of self-preservation and destroy the entire world again if replicated.