The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

TANSTAAFL: Libertarian economist David Friedman examines an acronym popularized by Heinlein 

TANSTAAFL!

Many libertarians and other freedom-loving SF fans know that term well. For those who don’t recall, it’s an acronym for “There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch.”

The Grand Master SF writer Robert Heinlein did his share to popularize the acronym in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. His bestselling, Hugo-winning novel, about a libertarian revolution on the Moon, was one of the first works inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame.

So did free-market economist and classical liberal Milton Friedman, who often quoted it over the years.

Both libertarians used the acronym to communicate the idea that nothing is truly free, and there’s always a cost to any decision.

But did the popular catchphrase inadvertently also spread a misunderstanding about economics?

Continue reading TANSTAAFL: Libertarian economist David Friedman examines an acronym popularized by Heinlein 

2024 Prometheus awards: Although “time… is intolerant,” the Hall of Fame “worships language” that has attained longevity, LFS President says

Editor’s note: As part of our coverage of the 44th Prometheus Awards ceremony, the Prometheus Blog is posting a variety of reports and the full texts of all speeches – including LFS President William H. Stoddard’s overview of the history and focus of the Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction.

By William H. Stoddard

The Libertarian Futurist Society began giving Hall of Fame Awards in 1982, with awards to two libertarian classics: Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, a key work for the emergence of the modern day libertarian movement, and Robert Heinlein’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, the foundational work of libertarian science fiction and still one of its best.

In recent years, as earlier Prometheus Award nominees have become old enough to be regarded as classics, we’ve adopted a requirement that Hall of Fame nominees must have been published at least twenty years ago, and must not have won the Best Novel award.

Continue reading 2024 Prometheus awards: Although “time… is intolerant,” the Hall of Fame “worships language” that has attained longevity, LFS President says

Robert Heinlein: Remembering the Grand Master on his birthday

Today (July 7) is the birthday of Robert Heinlein, one of the greatest science fiction writers of the past century.

Robert Heinlein in the 1920s (Photo courtesy of Heinlein Trust archives)

In honor of his birthday, the Prometheus blog remembers and celebrates Heinlein (1907-1988), hailed by his peers as a Grand Master of science fiction and perhaps the most famous and widely read libertarian sf author of his era.

Heinlein also is the author most often honored and recognized with Prometheus Awards – a grand total of nine.

So it’s no surprise that the Prometheus Blog over its first seven years has posted 46 articles, reviews, essays, news stories or author’s updates about him – more than those about any other author.

Most of Heinlein’s works retain their story-telling power and prescient relevance, so today’s a good day to check out something by or about Heinlein.

Continue reading Robert Heinlein: Remembering the Grand Master on his birthday

Anderson, Heinlein, Tolkien, Hoyt, Pratchett and other favorite authors: The Prometheus interview (part 4) with Dave Freer

The Prometheus Award for Best Novel has been won over the decades by writers from the United States, England, Scotland and Finland – with Best Novel finalists from China, Japan, Canada and many other countries.

Dave Freer with his 2023 Prometheus Awards Best Novel plaque for Cloud-Castles (Photo courtesy of Freer)

But Dave Freer is the first writer from the Southern Hemisphere to win a Prometheus Award for Best Novel.

Here is the fourth and final part of the Prometheus Interview with the Australian/Tasmanian author, the 2023 winner of the Prometheus for Best Novel for Cloud-Castles.

Q: Do you have any favorites among Prometheus Award winners?

A: It’s a good reading list, isn’t it? I think I have just about everything in the Hall of Fame.

Continue reading Anderson, Heinlein, Tolkien, Hoyt, Pratchett and other favorite authors: The Prometheus interview (part 4) with Dave Freer

The Prometheus interview with Dave Freer, the 2023 Best Novel winner for Cloud-Castles

“The outback of Australia was a very individualist place. So: I had my model.” – Dave Freer

Australian writer Dave Freer Photo courtesy of author

Dave Freer’s Cloud-Castles, the 2023 Prometheus Best Novel winner, offers a zestful and often funny coming-of-age adventure set on diverse habitats floating above a gas-giant planet.

The Australian author, who lives in Tasmania, considers himself “mostly a rational anarchist” in the tradition of Robert Heinlein. Freer was interviewed by email by Michael Grossberg, a Prometheus Blog editor.

Continue reading The Prometheus interview with Dave Freer, the 2023 Best Novel winner for Cloud-Castles

LFS President: Prometheus Hall of Fame honors reflect passages of time, recognition of merit

With the annual Sept. 30 deadline coming up soon for LFS members to nominate works for the Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction, this is a good time to remind ourselves what makes this annual category special.

LFS President William H. Stoddard did just that when he presented the Prometheus Hall of Fame category for Best Classic Fiction at the recent 43rd annual Prometheus awards ceremony. Here are Stoddard’s remarks:

By William H. Stoddard

Unlike the Best Novel Award, the Prometheus Hall of Fame can be given to works in any narrative or dramatic form — short fiction, narrative verse, plays, movies, television and video episodes or series, graphic novels, songs, and so on.

It’s restricted to works that first appeared at least twenty years ago.

A great many of our award winners are older than that, often dating to before the LFS was founded.

Continue reading LFS President: Prometheus Hall of Fame honors reflect passages of time, recognition of merit

2023 induction of “Free Men” into Hall of Fame confirms Robert Heinlein as a Prometheus Award all-time favorite

By Michael Grossberg

Quite a few writers have won more than one Prometheus award since the awards were launched in the 1970s, but nobody has won more than the late great Robert Heinlein.

Robert Heinlein, a drawing (Creative Commons license)

Libertarian Futurist Society members proved anew how much they remain ardent fans of Heinlein (1907-1988) by voting his 1966 novelette “Free Men” the 2023 Best Classic Fiction winner and thereby inducting it into the Prometheus Hall of Fame.

That marks the ninth novel, novelette or story by Heinlein to be recognized with a Prometheus Award – a record.

Continue reading 2023 induction of “Free Men” into Hall of Fame confirms Robert Heinlein as a Prometheus Award all-time favorite

Making ‘em laugh: Which Hall of Fame winners best incorporate comedy?

By Michael Grossberg

Everyone has their favorites among the fiction works that have won the Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction.

And by everyone, I mean virtually everyone – since at least some of the 46 winning works are enjoyed by libertarians and non-libertarians alike, and by both science fiction/fantasy fans and those who don’t often read that genre.

But how many rank the comedies that high?

Continue reading Making ‘em laugh: Which Hall of Fame winners best incorporate comedy?

Greg Bear, RIP: Prolific awardwinning sf author ( and Poul Anderson’s son-in-law) wrote more than 50 novels

Prolific SF/fantasy author Greg Bear has died at 71.

Greg Bear Photo by Kyle Cassidy, Creative Commons license)

Bear, who died in November after suffering several strokes during heart surgery, was widely acclaimed for his wide-ranging and epic science fiction and fantasy.

An international bestseller and Heinlein Award-winner, Bear wrote more than 50 novels and almost as many works of short fiction, and edited an important Poul Anderson anthology.

Even though Bear never won a Prometheus Award, much of his life and work were “Prometheus-adjacent.”

Continue reading Greg Bear, RIP: Prolific awardwinning sf author ( and Poul Anderson’s son-in-law) wrote more than 50 novels

The best of the blog: Six posts to savor from 2022 (about Bujold, Heinlein, Longyear, McCarthy and more)

By Michael Grossberg

Happy new year! If you didn’t have a chance to catch up in 2022 with every post published last year on The Prometheus Blog, you missed some fascinating and illuminating reading.

On average, the LFS posted a fresh article on the blog about every five days – a little more often than our initial weekly publication goal, when establishing the Prometheus blog years ago.

Among the 67 blog posts of 2022 were a wide range of reviews, essays, author interviews and Prometheus-Award-winner appreciations – not to mention a variety of timely news updates and links to interesting international articles referencing past Prometheus winners.

Second chances don’t always occur in life, but the start of 2023 offers an opportunity to look back and enjoy some of the best Prometheus blog reviews, essays, interviews and appreciations of the past year.

Continue reading The best of the blog: Six posts to savor from 2022 (about Bujold, Heinlein, Longyear, McCarthy and more)