The Great Potlatch Riots

"The Great Potlatch Riots" by Allen Kim Lang is a funny science fiction book from the 1950s that makes fun of how much people buy things and how the government controls celebrations. It pictures a future where a special office makes sure everyone buys enough gifts to help the economy, showing how silly it is when people are forced to be grateful and how much pressure they feel to follow the rules. The story is about Captain Wesley Winfree, who works for this office. He's getting ready for a huge Potlatch Day and planning his wedding. But his new idea to make everyone give gifts for every birthday makes people angry because they already have to buy too many gifts for other holidays. When people start fighting back against the office, there are big riots on Winfree's wedding day, which shows how different people's desires are from what society expects. In the end, the Captain learns something important about what celebrations and being free really mean.