The book had themes of life and its value, since replicated beings were cheaper and more expendable than the real thing. It echoes the themes of the original Mary Shelley story of the Frankenstein monster who is more moral than his creator, whom he ultimately kills. Unlike the Frankenstein monster, the replicant has the possibility of ultimate salvation, and thus hope. This theme is extended in Rachel's final flight with Deckard, the Blade Runner. I read other books besides SF, and evenutally Karl Malden was the commencement speaker at my high school graduation, not Huey Newton.
Dialogue is a necessary ingredient of testing ideas.
One famous contrarian, Stuart Brand, is at The Well . The discussion here is about free speech on the web. Ideas push into the future. The Vision Thing is happening at this industry simulation game that I participate in. Vision is necessary for planning communities, and Urban Ecology is a group that is working towards the sustainabilty concept in cities.