In the
science fiction of
Cordwainer Smith, the
Instrumentality of Mankind refers both to Smith's personal
future history and
universe and to the central government of humanity.
The Instrumentality of Mankind is also the title of a paperback collection of short stories by Cordwainer Smith published in 1979 (now superseded by the later
The Rediscovery of Man, which collects all of Smith's short stories).