# Any governments that are communist or socialist in SCI-FI?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-governments-that-are-communist-or-socialist-in-sci-fi/105391>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 24, 2002, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-governments-that-are-communist-or-socialist-in-sci-fi/105391 "2002-04-24T17:21:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-governments-that-are-communist-or-socialist-in-sci-fi/105391/21 "2002-04-25T12:25:54Z")

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The People’s Repuplic of Haven in the Honor Harrington series.

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**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-governments-that-are-communist-or-socialist-in-sci-fi/105391/22 "2002-04-25T15:20:50Z")

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The ‘Com’ worlds in Jack Chalker’s _Well World_ series.

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**Author:** ![Melan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Melan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melan)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-governments-that-are-communist-or-socialist-in-sci-fi/105391/23 "2002-04-25T16:00:38Z")

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Oh sure!

-Oceania is one  
-or the Animal Farm  
-the city in Zamyatyn’s (sp?) “We”  
-Star Trek  
-many of Stanilaw Lem’s very early works (which he doesn’t recognize anymore and prevents them from being published) are set in a future communistic society - like \* Astronauts \*, \* The Magellan Cloud \*, some of the earlier Ijon Tichy tales…  
-the same is true for the Strugatsky brothers

The most important thing: in some of these, it actually works well!

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**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-governments-that-are-communist-or-socialist-in-sci-fi/105391/24 "2002-04-25T16:09:09Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Melan \*  
> \*\*The most important thing: in some of these, it actually works well! \*\*

Hence the “Fiction” in “Science Fiction”…

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**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-governments-that-are-communist-or-socialist-in-sci-fi/105391/25 "2002-04-25T16:40:44Z")

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Then there are science fiction books that have the exploration of socialism as their goal…for example, either Ayn Rand’s “Anthem” or Lois Lowry’s “The Giver”, (for negative portrayals) or Edward Bellamy’s “Looking Backward” (for a positive one)

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**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-governments-that-are-communist-or-socialist-in-sci-fi/105391/26 "2002-04-25T17:47:01Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \*  
> \*\*Yeah, the Federation is communist… \*\*

Is it? I know that STARFLEET members go without money, but I didn’t know if it was ever spelled out that all of the Federation (i.e., people not in military/research, for whom the govt. provides everything) worked that way.

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