Before he can really explore it, however, Dr. Leete traps him into a series of endless monologues explaining what's going on in America at the end of the 20th century. Every citizen stays in school until age 21, then does three years of basic labor and goes on to work in some self-chosen occupation until age 45. Julian is amazed to learn that everyone gets the same salary, regardless of their job. The only demand on workers, whether highly talented or mentally defective, is that they do their best. Modest households make housework unnecessary and since women are paid just as much as men, no woman needs to marry just to escape economic hardship.
People have every right to choose the work they most enjoy, and to change jobs when they like.
This state of affairs runs with what must be a gigantic bureaucracy, yet the government is far smaller than in the 19th century. The economy produces anything for which there is a demand. Owning lots of private goods only creates domestic clutter and people prefer to spend money on public places and events. Bellamy sometimes shows a startling foresight. Barely a decade after the invention of the telephone, he imagines live music being piped in by phone to private homes, with a wide range of selections available at any hour of the day or night.