Project Gutenberg 2016-02-08 Public domain in the USA. 150 MacDonald, John D. (John Dann) 1916 1986 Farrell, John Wade Reed, Peter O'Hara, Scott MacDonald, John Dann Hunter, Don Common Denominator Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction July 1951 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Common Denominator" by John D. MacDonald is a science fiction novel written in the early 1950s. The story revolves around the interactions between humans and the Argonauts, an advanced alien civilization. It explores themes of societal evolution, the necessity for maturity in a species, and the consequences of unchecked human impulses. In the narrative, Lambert, a chief of the Bureau of Racial Maturity, becomes intrigued by the Argonauts after a successful cultural exchange. He discovers that the Argonauts had faced similar challenges to humanity but found a drastic solution to violence and instability: a form of self-administered euthanasia activated by a personal impulse to self-harm. This controversial practice allowed their society to thrive by weeding out potential sources of instability, ultimately leading to a content but stagnant civilization. The story culminates with Lambert reflecting on the implications of this practice and questioning if humanity could adopt such measures to survive its own destructive tendencies. Lambert's decision to leave his job in the ending suggests a broader contemplation on ethical governance and the future of humanity. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 76.1 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Suicide -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 47645 2025-07-20T12:42:38.155058 text/html 23558 2024-10-23T00:00:49 text/html 301922 2025-07-20T12:42:39.945025 application/epub+zip 300759 2025-07-20T12:42:38.530078 application/epub+zip 77432 2025-07-20T12:42:38.320064 application/epub+zip 333842 2025-07-20T12:42:41.119062 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 327333 2025-07-20T12:42:39.736038 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 104490 2022-09-23T09:32:10.035953 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 40575 2025-07-20T12:42:38.039061 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20819 2024-10-23T00:00:49 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18390 2025-07-20T12:42:41.249033 application/rdf+xml 26719 2025-07-20T12:42:38.390031 image/jpeg 4692 2025-07-20T12:42:38.354048 image/jpeg 269409 2025-07-20T12:42:38.171051 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia