Apple TV's 'Pluribus' has a not-so-hidden message for America | Opinion

Spoiler alert: This column contains spoilers for Apple TV's " Pluribus ."

I finally got the chance to finish Apple TV's "Pluribus." Directed by Vince Gilligan, the show lives up to the hype generated by the "Breaking Bad" director's name alone.

There will be spoilers in this column, and I recommend you give the show a watch blind, because it is one of the better shows I have seen in years.

The show is about an alien virus that forces nearly all of humanity into a hive mind, with a handful of "survivors." The show focuses on one survivor, Carol Sturka, who is morally outraged at the situation and desperately fights to ensure that she's not woven into the hive mind, while also searching for a cure. 

Gilligan has said that "Pluribus" can be interpreted to be about a lot of things . In my eyes, it perfectly reveals the moral argument against centrally planned societies by stripping away many of their practical limitations. The result is that it perfectly exposes the moral issue at the center of them. 

Carol, the protagonist, stands as a hero of American traits against a planned society, defending her very American conception of liberty.

'Pluribus' is about central planning and its problems

"Pluribus" is a centrally planned society. Grocery shelves can be efficiently fully stocked with a few minutes' notice, the lights of an entire city can be turned off to reduce light pollution, and entire neighborhoods can be emptied or refilled in short order, depending on "needs." 

There are a handful of problems with planned societies. The first is the information problem. A central planning body can never adequately interpret the widely dispersed knowledge that millions, hundreds of millions or billions of people hold throughout a given economy.

Market economies can accomplish the efficient allocation of resources through price signals, but a planned system requires humans to achieve such efficiency, and they inevitably fall short. 

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The second problem is related to the first, but it has a human impact. Any society demands that some people be forced into doing jobs they do not want to do. To make that happen, you either need higher wage compensation in a market economy or coercion in a planned economy. 

However, what is interesting about "Pluribus" is that it eliminates both of these problems. The hive mind in "Pluribus" overcomes this information problem with central planning by making all information readily available to all 7 billion bodies simultaneously, and the collective action of the hive mind eliminates the need for outside motivation to do undesirable jobs. 

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What is left, then, is just the moral third problem with central planning, which is that it immorally infringes on people's right to self-determination. A core tenet of Americanism is the ability to determine what is best for yourself. It is that freedom that sets us apart in outlook and spirit from others.

In "Pluribus," this manifests as a virus that takes away the free will of its victims and forces their empty husks to work in pursuit of a collective goal.

In real life, something similar is done through coercion, mainly the threat of violence, to act in the interest of "the collective" rather than yourself. 

'Pluribus' is a truly American show

"Pluribus" creates utopia for those who are joined because there is no pain, no war, no economic pursuit. However, the trade-off is losing everything that makes one human, namely the ability to love, live new experiences, learn new material and any other individual experience. 

In modern times, such central planning is on the rise. On the left, socialists in the vein of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani want to take the free market out of housing and plan increases to supply through government efforts. Trumpian economics has plenty of central-planning ideas behind it, whether that be his tariff regime designed to protect American workers or using the might of government to coerce companies to do what he wants.

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Collectivists may watch the show and be put off by Carol's rugged individualism, but she is quite obviously our protagonist who stands against utopia at the cost of individual autonomy.

In Carol's case, the hive mind members try to capitalize on her loneliness and loss of direction. In the case of our other protagonist, Manousos Oviedo , they attempt to bribe him into acceptance.

As a parallel in real life, collectivists employ all sorts of tactics in order to steer your ship into their rocky shores. Even though individuals can be lulled into complacency by strenuous social conditions to dabble in the collectivist prospect for a time, Carol ultimately rejects being "joined" into the collective consciousness to save her humanity. 

That's why Carol is a hero. By the end of the first season, Carol realizes that it is preferable to live within an imperfect world where you are free to determine your own outcome than to live in a perfect one.

The first season of "Pluribus" is truly American. It stands against the siren song of collectivism precisely when such ideologies are gaining traction in our world. As villains in real life want to lure America away from our individualistic nature, "Pluribus" urges us to reject those calls. I can't recommend that thought and the show enough. 

Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is 'Pluribus' about? Apple TV show is a warning for US | Opinion