Libertarian Fiction

We all read it. Let's discuss it. Suggest books to each other, critique stuff that's out there. I just read "Farnham's Freehold" by Robert Heinlein. It was great. I noticed that Hugh, the lead character, often takes the stance that he can't tell people what to do, but he will refuse to participate in a way that would help someone achieve something he saw as wrong. I should probably say, that the story is about an American Patriot that gets his family into a bomb shelter before the USSR strikes and the bombs end up catapulting them 2000 years into the future where white people are slaves and people speak some evolved form of Arabic. Generally, whites were blamed for the war and devastation. It deals with racial issues in a way that is challenging and not offensive. The story is a fascinating look at human nature, and there are even parts where some of the characters discuss introducing a price system into the economy. I would say that Hugh is a libertarian style hero. Has anyone else read this? Or do you have something else you'd like to discuss? I got the idea to check out Heinlein after I listened to the Libertarian Tradition podcast about the author.

Funny you should mention Farnham's Freehold as I just re-read that recently 40+ years after I first read it. Heinlein's most libertarian work is probably ``Moon is a Harsh Mistress''. Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash posits a Rothbardian society in which central government is very weak with private security and incarceration. Cory Doctorow's Little Brother is another recent book that addresses the abuses of Homeland ``security''. Mack Reynolds wrote a number of books addressing the issues when technology renders many jobs obsolete, and asks how people and government deal with these problems. These are the only ones I can think of right now, and I have to leave to do some Real Work(tm)

I've got the audiobook for "Moon", and I think I have Little Brother. But Cory Doctorow is a douche. He's a freakin' kanuck red diaper baby. After I heard him talk about that it was hard for me to read any more of his stuff. Is it worth it?

Has anyone ever read This Perfect Day? It's by Ira Levin, same guy who wrote Rosemary's Baby, Stepford Wives and Boys from Brazil. It's his 1984-style scifi. That was a pretty good one i read when i was a kid. the title of the book comes from a nursery ryhme that the children are taught. Everyone is controlled chemically, and Marx is considered to be one of the founders of their society (along with a secular version of Christ). It's worth checking out.