'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman

Set in a regimented world any time wasted is paid out of your own lifespan, and cronically late individuals are "turned off" when they have wasted too much, a jester thumbs his nose at clocks and is branded a terrorist. How did we get here and how does the Harlequin's story unfold?

It is interesting to see such a story written in the 1960s before computer technology comepletely re-wrote standards of effiecency & connected the world. It reminds me of the on-going complaint that X new technology is ruining society by destroying interpersonal communication-- trains, radio, phones, internet.... It's the same issues every generation. Though I would be interested to see the author's thoughts 50 years later- have we become more time regimented or less?