"The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick - This essay discusses the relationship between citizen and state in the short story.

"The Minority Report," by Philip K. Dick, portrays a government desperately trying to secure legitimacy and, therefore, stability through ultimate control over the lives of its people. The Federal Westbloc Government is ruled by a Senate, the Army and Precrime, the police who virtually eradicated major crime in this new society. In order to keep power, the three branches must convince people that the Precrime system works, so they will believe the suspension of certain …

…the safety of all society was ultimately more important than his freedom. For all of the progress the society made, however, the emphasis on the slum areas by Dick were notable for their demonstration of the static endurance of human nature. Literature seems to constantly remind us that opportunistic, charismatic leaders will continue to emerge who will take advantage and prevent any semblance of an utopia or even a true equalitarian democracy in our world.