{"id":3893,"date":"2021-12-21T12:30:20","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T18:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lfs.org\/blog\/?p=3893"},"modified":"2024-05-10T19:51:54","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T00:51:54","slug":"sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"SF anthology \u2018Visions of Liberty\u2019 imagines future worlds without government: Part Two of an Appreciation of the 2005 Special Prometheus Award winner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lfs.org\/blog\/interview-lfs-founder-michael-grossberg-on-how-he-became-a-writer-critic-sf-fan-helped-save-the-prometheus-awards\/\"><strong>By Michael Grossberg<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Before you can build and sustain a fully free society, in earth or in space, you have to be able to fully imagine it.<\/p>\n<p>Positive and persuasive visions of liberty &#8211; that can capture people&#8217;s imaginations as both desirable and feasible &#8211; are crucial to help sustain free and diverse societies where people have the best conditions to flourish. And whatever their differing perspectives, such visions must have plausibility, practicality and legitimacy.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Visions-of-Liberty-203200_.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3899\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/visions-of-liberty-203200_\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Visions-of-Liberty-203200_.jpg?fit=295%2C474&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"295,474\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Visions of Liberty 203,200_\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Visions-of-Liberty-203200_.jpg?fit=187%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Visions-of-Liberty-203200_.jpg?fit=295%2C474&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3899 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Visions-of-Liberty-203200_-187x300.jpg?resize=187%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"187\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Visions-of-Liberty-203200_.jpg?resize=187%2C300&amp;ssl=1 187w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Visions-of-Liberty-203200_.jpg?w=295&amp;ssl=1 295w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 187px) 100vw, 187px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where science fiction can play a vital role \u2013 and <em>Visions of Liberty, <\/em>an anthology exploring different futuristic scenarios of freedom, fulfills that goal with fascinating, engrossing and surprisingly plausible stories.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Edited by Australian libertarian Mark Tier and prolific sf editor Martin H. Greenberg, <em>Visions of Liberty\u00a0<\/em>was recognized in 2005, along with its companion Baen Books anthology <em>Give Me Liberty,\u00a0<\/em>with a Special Prometheus Award.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Give Me Liberty<\/em>, meanwhile, focuses on previously written and published stories \u2013 some classics. Click <a href=\"https:\/\/lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-give-me-liberty-imagines-future-freedom-fighters-part-one-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2015-special-prometheus-award-winner\/\"><strong><em>here<\/em><\/strong><\/a> to read that Appreciation.)<\/p>\n<p>Like\u00a0<em>Free Space<\/em>, an anthology that won the first Special Prometheus Award in 1998,\u00a0<em>Visions of Liberty\u00a0<\/em>ambitiously invited a variety of sf authors to contribute original stories that had never been published before.<\/p>\n<p>That focus on totally new short fiction reflects an especially daring and admirable strategy \u2013 daring, because, per Sturgeon\u2019s Law, only a small quotient of new works typically have the quality and imagination to stand the test of time, but courageous, because if editors, anthologies and sf magazines don\u2019t encourage writers to test themselves and create anew, who will?<\/p>\n<p>Greenberg and Tier didn\u2019t try to commission all new work from sf authors, as\u00a0<em>Free Space\u00a0<\/em>ambitiously did. Instead, they sifted through all the classic and recent sf short stories written and published over the past half century or so to try to find some of the best stories addressing libertarian themes that still resonate in the 21<sup>st\u00a0<\/sup>century.<\/p>\n<p>And they largely succeeded.<\/p>\n<p>Their somewhat different focuses are complementary, allowing the stories in each book to be read separately, alternately or together.<\/p>\n<p>In his illuminating introductory essay for <em>Visions of Liberty,\u00a0<\/em>Tier described the focus of their anthology as imagining \u201ca plethora of Freelandias\u201d \u2013 totally free societies without government.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough there\u2019s a strong individualistic streak within science fiction, until recently very few stories were set in a completely free society,\u201d Tier wrote.<br \/>\n\u201cOne reason, perhaps, is that all fiction thrives on conflict and a truly free society is so peaceful that there\u2019s not very much to write about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tier\u2019s introduction reminds us that governments, per se, were a relatively recent development in human societies, sparked by the transition from hunter-gatherer tribes to agriculture, which meant people settling down in one place .<br \/>\n\u201cThat meant, for the first time, human populations much larger than small tribes of a hundred-odd hunter-gatherers&#8230; and something else:<br \/>\n\u201cFor the first time, there was something to loot,\u201d Tier writes.<\/p>\n<p>Freedom, he explains, is a very recent phenomenon, and our modern concepts of liberty really didn\u2019t become part of our language and culture until the Renaissance a few centuries ago.<br \/>\n\u201cNo medieval king or indian maharajah ever fought for freedom. They fought to keep their power or to expand it. Their prize: the surplus they could extract from the peasantry&#8230;\u201d<br \/>\nToday\u2019s major tourist attractions \u2013 the pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal&#8230; were all built by forced or slave labor for the pure benefit of their rulers. There was no pretense that \u201cwe\u2019re doing this for your own good.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cFrom the agricultural revolution until the Renaissance, mankind of the choice of rule or be ruled; to be the oppressed or the oppressor. The idea of freedom \u2013 that you should neither rule nor be ruled; to be left alone to pursue your own happiness in your own way, and grant others the same right \u2013 did not exist, just as it still doesn\u2019t exist in most parts of the world,\u201d Tier wrote.<\/p>\n<p>LFS members will be pleased to know that in his introduction, Tier praises James Hogan\u2019s \u201csadly neglected\u201d <em>Voyage From Yesteryear<\/em> (one of the very first works recognized by the Prometheus Awards, as the 1983 Best Novel winner).\u00a0Tier also mentions that L. Neil Smith\u2019s novels <em>The Probability Broach\u00a0<\/em>and <em>Pallas <\/em>won the Prometheus Award (respectively in 1982 and 1994).<\/p>\n<p>Like all three of those Prometheus-winning novels, the nine stories in this anthology plausibly imagine societies without government \u2013 moreover, societies that actually function relatively well (albeit differently in some respects, and certainly not perfectly.) \u00a0Then again, has there ever been perfection in our human history so far on Earth?<\/p>\n<p>None, moreover, are Utopias by any means. (And lest we forget, the word &#8220;utopia&#8221; comes from ancient Greek and means &#8220;nowhere.&#8221; That&#8217;s a clue.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike real life, there\u2019s pain and suffering,\u201d Tier writes.<\/p>\n<p>Here are capsule reviews of those stories, which together offer a rather quick and entertaining read in 289 pages:<\/p>\n<p><strong>TIER\u2019S \u2018RENEGADE\u2019<\/strong><br \/>\nCo-editor Mark Tier himself, far better known for his bestselling nonfiction books than his rare fiction, contributes a story to the collection that\u2019s not bad. Not bad at all!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3775\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3775\" style=\"width: 236px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Mark-Tier-._SX450_.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3775\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-give-me-liberty-imagines-future-freedom-fighters-part-one-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2015-special-prometheus-award-winner\/mark-tier-_sx450_\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Mark-Tier-._SX450_.jpg?fit=450%2C573&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"450,573\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Mark Tier ._SX450_\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Writer-editor Mark Tier (Creative Commons license)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Mark-Tier-._SX450_.jpg?fit=236%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Mark-Tier-._SX450_.jpg?fit=450%2C573&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3775\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Mark-Tier-._SX450_-236x300.jpg?resize=236%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"236\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Mark-Tier-._SX450_.jpg?resize=236%2C300&amp;ssl=1 236w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Mark-Tier-._SX450_.jpg?w=450&amp;ssl=1 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3775\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Writer-editor Mark Tier (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In \u201cRenegade,\u201d Tier imagines how a murder investigation might proceed in a future Earth where libertarian thinking and privatization trends have developed sufficiently to create a workable anarcho-capitalist society without government \u2013 but with a functioning and surprisingly effective private crime-fighting system.<br \/>\nThe clever and plausible story revolves around two private investigators charged with finding the whereabouts of a man who brazenly killed his business partner and disappeared.<br \/>\nThe only clue, if it is a clue at all, is that the murderer\u2019s home library is missing a travel book about a country that starts with \u201cN\u201d on a shelf full of alphabetized travel books.<br \/>\nOh, and by the way, the murder and the events leading up to it were videotaped through a home surveillance system, though an initial viewing by the private police reveals nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary.<br \/>\n\u201cRenegade\u201d is more of a \u201cwhydunit\u201d and a where-are-they-now story than a traditional whodunit, but Tier\u2019s smart variations on a familiar mystery theme, and rational protagonists who strive to pay extra attention to emotion and character, pay off well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ROBERT J. SAWYER\u2019S \u201cTHE RIGHT\u2019S TOUGH\u201d<br \/>\n<\/strong>One of the most intriguing, amusing and surprising stories is \u201cThe Right\u2019s Tough,&#8221; in which Robert J. Sawyer imagines the first interstellar team of astronauts returning to Earth after generations to discover a world very different from the one they left.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3942\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3942\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Robert_j_sawyer_in_2005.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3942\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/robert_j_sawyer_in_2005\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Robert_j_sawyer_in_2005.jpg?fit=220%2C293&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"220,293\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Robert_j_sawyer_in_2005\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Robert J. Sawyer (Creative Commons license)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Robert_j_sawyer_in_2005.jpg?fit=220%2C293&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Robert_j_sawyer_in_2005.jpg?fit=220%2C293&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3942\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Robert_j_sawyer_in_2005.jpg?resize=220%2C293&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"293\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3942\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Robert J. Sawyer (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It won\u2019t give away the final twists of Sawyer\u2019s ingenious tale to reveal that, very soon in the story, the astronauts learn that there is no U.S. President any more to greet them because there is no government.<br \/>\nIn a scenario that libertarians will like quite a bit, at least at first, American and world society is revealed to be self-regulating and socially and economically and technologically advanced, all without the help or hindrance of the coercive State.<br \/>\nThe astronauts have a difficult time adjusting to the new world they\u2019ve visited, in some ways a very alien world (despite the continued existence of the White House, now a tourist attraction. The White House restaurants offer menus with a variety of distinctive dishes, each named after one of the 61 men and seven women who had served as U.S. presidents.\u00a0 One of Sawyer\u2019s small but deft touches: One of the characters orders a \u201cClinton\u201d (pork ribs and masked potatoes with gravy.\u201d<br \/>\nYet, one of the dystopian undercurrents of Sawyer\u2019s story is his smart \u2013 and today increasingly prophetic \u2013 extrapolation of one of the more ominous implications of social media and the potential oppression of social ratings to gauge approval.<br \/>\nThis particular future without government may dodge many of the greatest evils in history that are directly due to government \u2013 from tyranny and slavery to war and Prohibitions of various kinds. Yet, it\u2019s a world I wonder whether I\u2019d really want to live in, because of the strong social (albeit voluntary) controls that have developed via majoritarian tendencies.<br \/>\nI guess one of Sawyer\u2019s underlying themes is: Be careful what you wish for, because you may get it \u2013 good and hard.<\/p>\n<div><b>LLOYD BIGGLE\u2019S \u2018THE UNNULLIFIED WORLD\u2019<br \/>\n<\/b><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe Unnullified World,\u201d by Lloyd Biggle, Jr., plausibly imagines a planet with a frontier-like free society, much like the historic gold-mining communities that arose in California and the Yukon in the 1800s before formal government was set up there.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3944\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3944\" style=\"width: 175px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Lloyd_Biggle_Jr._1923-2002.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3944\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/lloyd_biggle_jr-_1923-2002\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Lloyd_Biggle_Jr._1923-2002.jpg?fit=175%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"175,200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Lloyd_Biggle,_Jr._(1923-2002)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (Creative Commons License)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Lloyd_Biggle_Jr._1923-2002.jpg?fit=175%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Lloyd_Biggle_Jr._1923-2002.jpg?fit=175%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3944\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Lloyd_Biggle_Jr._1923-2002.jpg?resize=175%2C200&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"175\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3944\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (Creative Commons License)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s a harsh environment for human beings, both in terms of nature and society. The men in this world can\u2019t afford the luxury of sloth or irrationality or irresponsibility or they might not survive.<br \/>\nBiggle paints a realistic portrait of a functional, if unforgiving social system that evolved without the compulsion inherent in government.<br \/>\nWhen a visitor to this world comes to investigate the circumstances of a disappearance and possible murder \u2013 a visitor honestly interested in pursuing the facts of an apparent crime but also representing a very real and powerful foreign government \u2013 his point of view reflects our own outsider\u2019s vantage point.<br \/>\nAnd what he ultimately discovers about that man&#8217;s destiny and about how this human outpost works \u00a0\u2013 without giving much away \u2013 reinforces some harsh truths that even libertarians might do well not to forget: Freedom means responsibility \u2013 and evading responsibility and denying reality has serious consequences.<\/p>\n<div><b>JANE LINDSKOLD\u2019S \u2018PAKEHA\u2019<\/b><\/div>\n<p>Perhaps the best story in the anthology is \u201cPakeha,\u201d Jane Lindskold\u2019s compelling and plausible portrait of a fully free society without government in a future, post-apocalypse New Zealand.<br \/>\nApocalypses in our era are a dime a dozen, but Lindskold\u2019s plot trigger is especially convincing, without giving away any details. Suffice to say that she insightfully imagines how New Zealand\u2019s farming\/ranching economy and culture might adapt if a specific and crucial element of our techno-industrial, petroleum-based global economy pretty quickly became inoperative.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3945\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3945\" style=\"width: 286px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jane-Lindskold-ld_8428.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3945\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/jane-lindskold-ld_8428\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jane-Lindskold-ld_8428.jpg?fit=311%2C326&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"311,326\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Jane Lindskold ld_8428\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Jane Lindskold (Creative Commons license)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jane-Lindskold-ld_8428.jpg?fit=286%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jane-Lindskold-ld_8428.jpg?fit=311%2C326&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3945\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jane-Lindskold-ld_8428-286x300.jpg?resize=286%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"286\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jane-Lindskold-ld_8428.jpg?resize=286%2C300&amp;ssl=1 286w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jane-Lindskold-ld_8428.jpg?w=311&amp;ssl=1 311w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 286px) 100vw, 286px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3945\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jane Lindskold (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cPakeha\u201d is also enjoyable as something of a revelatory \u201cfirst contact\u201d story, although here the \u201calien\u201d culture is actually a very human one, sturdily based on the history of the frontier and the self-sufficient but mutually cooperative farming\/ranching communities that tend to emerge on the frontier by necessity. (Without giving too much away, just recall the group barn-raising social events common in Amish and other traditional rural communities.)<\/p>\n<p>Beyond its realistic world-building and convincing plot, Lindskold\u2019s story is even more effective because its characters come alive \u2013 albeit not all are likable. In fact, her story, ultimately in its essence about the importance of building character, offers a wise reminder that no healthy society can function without good and decent people who take responsibility for themselves, their families and communities while respecting the rights, dignity and humanity of others.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Without that, of course, no society can prosper, or perhaps even survive. (And let\u2019s not take that for granted, or forget that in reality, even today\u2019s societies very much with government, including the vast majority still hamstrung and severely damaged by obtrusive and oppressive States with corrupted and power-abusing elites, actually rely more than most people recognize on the generally good, peaceful and social behavior exhibited by most people the vast majority of the time.)<\/p>\n<p>The problem for libertarians, of course, is how do you deal with the few who violate social norms, especially through aggression. If the institutionalized and legalized coercion at the root of all government is the only way to keep the peace and \u201cstop\u201d violent crime, then who will watch the watchers? But if that cure is worse than the disease, as many libertarian political philosophers and others have argued over the centuries, then are there effective ways to deal with the initiation of force or fraud when it inevitably arises?<\/p>\n<p>Here \u201cPakeha\u201d offers some excellent answers. The story stimulates deeper thinking about the prerequisites of achieving, and then sustaining, societies with law and strong social norms but without even a smidgen of coercive government.<\/p>\n<p>Lindskold\u2019s answer implies that a drastically shifting \u201cOverton window\u201d might well be one of the most effective \u2013 and perhaps one of the only \u2013 ways that our present statist-dominated world might give up even the ghost of government rule. That is, if (and it\u2019s a pretty big \u2018if\u2019), \u00a0a courageous and maverick leader \u2013 one without grandiosity or power-lust but exemplifying a rare focus on reality and practicality above politics \u00a0\u2013 can rally the people to exploit a narrow window of opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>I will long remember \u201cPakeha\u201d for the stirring and sobering wisdom of its themes. Among the themes I most take to heart: Courage and character counts \u2013 especially when the price of peace and freedom is eternal vigilance.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3947\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3947\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mike_Resnick_3.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3947\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/mike_resnick_3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mike_Resnick_3.jpg?fit=220%2C293&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"220,293\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Mike_Resnick_3\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Mike Resnick (Creative Commons license)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mike_Resnick_3.jpg?fit=220%2C293&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mike_Resnick_3.jpg?fit=220%2C293&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3947\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mike_Resnick_3.jpg?resize=220%2C293&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"293\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3947\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Resnick (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p><strong>RESNICK AND BUCKELL\u2019S \u201cTHE SHACKLES OF FREEDOM\u201d<br \/>\n<\/strong>Sometimes people make choices with their freedom that we might not understand or approve of.<\/p>\n<p>That is the poignant tragedy depicted with poetic realism in Mike Resnick and Tobias S. Buckell\u2019s \u201cThe Shackles of Freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They basically imagine a pre-modern Amish-style community established on an alien planet that is largely liveable, despite some dangerous wildlife, but whose citizens refuse to embrace modern technology or medicine.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3948\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3948\" style=\"width: 107px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Tobias_Buckell__John_Scalzi_102812505.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3948\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/tobias_buckell__john_scalzi_102812505\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Tobias_Buckell__John_Scalzi_102812505.jpg?fit=107%2C192&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"107,192\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Tobias_Buckell_&#038;_John_Scalzi_(102812505)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Tobias Buckell (Creative Commons license)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Tobias_Buckell__John_Scalzi_102812505.jpg?fit=107%2C192&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Tobias_Buckell__John_Scalzi_102812505.jpg?fit=107%2C192&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3948\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Tobias_Buckell__John_Scalzi_102812505.jpg?resize=107%2C192&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"107\" height=\"192\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3948\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tobias Buckell (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The story is framed from the point of view of a visiting resident doctor, who is dedicated to helping the farm community of fellow humans despite his frustrations because he comes from other Earth-settled planets that benefit enormously from far more advanced and life-saving technology.<br \/>\nIncorporating touches of wistful romance, a brief but life-threatening alien encounter and the tragedy of cross-cultural conflicts and misunderstandings, this austere but beautiful story will linger in the memory, and uneasily so.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>JAMES P. HOGAN\u2019S \u2018THE COLONIZING OF THARLE\u2019<\/strong><br \/>\nJames Hogan (a prolific British\/American sf author and Prometheus winner &#8211; for <a href=\"https:\/\/lfs.org\/blog\/40th-anniversary-prometheus-celebration-an-appreciation-of-james-p-hogans-voyage-from-yesteryear-the-1983-best-novel-winner\/\"><em>Voyage From Yesteryear<\/em><\/a> &#8211; much missed since his passing in 2010) was deft at establishing the odd realities of a foreign planet where the customs and attitudes are drastically different.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3950\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3950\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/James_P._Hogan_2005.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3950\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/james_p-_hogan_2005\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/James_P._Hogan_2005.jpg?fit=220%2C264&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"220,264\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"James_P._Hogan_2005\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;James P. Hogan (Creative Commons license)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/James_P._Hogan_2005.jpg?fit=220%2C264&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/James_P._Hogan_2005.jpg?fit=220%2C264&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3950\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/James_P._Hogan_2005.jpg?resize=220%2C264&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"264\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3950\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">James P. Hogan (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In \u201cThe Colonizing of Tharle,\u201d Hogan sets up such divergent human behavior that it becomes a sort of mystery tale \u2013 not \u201cwhodunit\u201d so much as \u201cwhy do they act that way?\u201d<br \/>\nHis answer I don\u2019t find completely plausible psychologically, but in the process Hogan does set up a plausible and functional anarchistic society where the people prosper without major problems.<br \/>\nAside from a few dissidents, whose rights are respected by the majority.<br \/>\nHogan\u2019s main literary speculation here is interesting in imagining a quite different culture than the ethos that some believe is the foundation of modern acquisitive capitalism.<br \/>\nIt is refreshing to see a libertarian sf writer imagine a fully free planet where the culture and social behavior truly is alien.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>JACK WILLIAMSON\u2019S \u201cDEVIL\u2019S STAR\u201d<br \/>\n<\/strong>Most freedom-loving sf fans will enjoy \u201cDevil\u2019s Star,\u201d Jack Williamson\u2019s pro-freedom but over-simplified tale of how a remote hell-hole planet of anarchistic exiles resist imperialist take-over by military representatives of an authoritarian and corrupt galactic empire.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3951\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3951\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jwilliamson.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3951\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/jwilliamson-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jwilliamson.jpg?fit=220%2C254&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"220,254\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Jwilliamson\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Jack Williamson (Creative Commons license)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jwilliamson.jpg?fit=220%2C254&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jwilliamson.jpg?fit=220%2C254&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3951\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jwilliamson.jpg?resize=220%2C254&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"254\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3951\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jack Williamson (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Not only do these feisty freedom-fighters succeed in self-defense (a revelation that at this point, I don\u2019t think will undercut the pleasures of this gung-ho tale) but they also somehow quickly inspire an interstellar revolt that forces the galactic Emperor to abdicate.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the libertarian ideal of a freer future, and always a pleasure to imagine. Yet, after reading this story, and relaxing our temporary suspension of disbelief, readers might start to get suspicious of the plausibility of such an impossibly quick end to such a long-established tyranny.<\/p>\n<p>Yea, right. <em>I wish!<\/em><br \/>\nIf only the common tyranny and constant abuses of power by some humans over others could be so easily abolished. But sadly, human psychology and acquiescence to even a harmful and unjust status quo seems to be the sheep-like tribal norm in what I strongly suspect is humanity\u2019s still-early and still-barbaric evolution and history.<\/p>\n<p>Still, let\u2019s give the benefit of the doubt to Williamson &#8211; a major golden-age sf writer with libertarian sympathies who has been recognized by the Prometheus Awards (for his story <a href=\"https:\/\/lfs.org\/blog\/robots-liberty-and-the-tyranny-of-benevolence-jack-williamsons-novelette-with-folded-hands-the-2018-prometheus-hall-of-fame-winner\/\">\u201cWith Folded Hands&#8230;,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame in 2018).<\/p>\n<p>In fairness, Williamson\u2019s libertarian-wish-fulfillment plot in \u201cDevil\u2019s Star\u201d seems telescoped and pretty much crammed into a short story. Quite likely, if Williamson had had the time or inclination to expand it, \u201cDevil\u2019s Star\u201d might have become far more plausible, in its details and characters, at novel length.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LINAWEAVER, STACKPOLE STORIES<\/strong><br \/>\nTwo interesting stories round out the anthology, one emphasizing humor and the other emphasizing mystery.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1205\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1205\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Brad_Linaweaver_2006.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1205\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/40th-anniversary-celebration-an-appreciation-of-brad-linaweavers-moon-of-ice-the-1989-prometheus-best-novel-winner\/brad_linaweaver_2006-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Brad_Linaweaver_2006.jpg?fit=220%2C239&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"220,239\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Brad_Linaweaver_(2006)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;SF novelist Brad Linaweaver in 2006 File photo&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Brad_Linaweaver_2006.jpg?fit=220%2C239&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Brad_Linaweaver_2006.jpg?fit=220%2C239&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1205\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Brad_Linaweaver_2006.jpg?resize=220%2C239&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"239\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1205\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SF novelist Brad Linaweaver in 2006 File photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cA Reception at the Anarchist Embassy,\u201d by Prometheus-winner Brad Linaweaver <a href=\"https:\/\/lfs.org\/blog\/40th-anniversary-celebration-an-appreciation-of-brad-linaweavers-moon-of-ice-the-1989-prometheus-best-novel-winner\/\"><em>(Moon of Ice)<\/em>,<\/a> offers comic riff speculating cynically about an anarchistic interstellar future that ironically doesn\u2019t turn out the way today\u2019s libertarians expect (along with several amusing libertarian in-jokes).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to Their Need,\u201d by bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole, \u00a0weaves a suspenseful sf murder mystery set on a stateless planet where murder is virtually unheard of because a computerized social-psychology-reinforcement system screens everyone for their temperament, wants and desires and largely fulfills them all.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3952\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3952\" style=\"width: 215px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Michael_Stackpole_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3952\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/michael_stackpole_by_gage_skidmore\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Michael_Stackpole_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?fit=330%2C460&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"330,460\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Michael Stockpile Photo:Gage_Skidmore\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Michael_Stackpole Photo: Gage_Skidmore (Creative Commons license).&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Michael_Stackpole_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?fit=215%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Michael_Stackpole_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?fit=330%2C460&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3952\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Michael_Stackpole_by_Gage_Skidmore-215x300.jpg?resize=215%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Michael_Stackpole_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?resize=215%2C300&amp;ssl=1 215w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Michael_Stackpole_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?w=330&amp;ssl=1 330w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 215px) 100vw, 215px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3952\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael_Stackpole Photo: Gage_Skidmore (Creative Commons license).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But Stackpole\u2019s anarchistic scenario, the fifth story in his Purgatory Station universe, isn\u2019t the kind of future freedom I imagine or would want to live within, since his very programmed &#8211; if non-coercive &#8211; society reeks of the dystopian passivity of a\u00a0<i>Brave New World.<br \/>\n<\/i><br \/>\nI guess the implicit sobering theme here is that culture matters a lot &#8211; and that freedom is a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite for the full flourishing of humanity.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, that&#8217;s a lot to ponder, a lot to imagine and a lot of wisdom to digest from Tier and Greenberg&#8217;s well-chosen anthology of nine thought-provoking stories of freedom in the distant future.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lfs-logo.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"44\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/prometheus-winning-author-neal-stephenson-to-discuss-his-latest-sf-novel\/lfs-logo\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lfs-logo.png?fit=300%2C138&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"300,138\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"lfs-logo\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lfs-logo.png?fit=300%2C138&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lfs-logo.png?fit=300%2C138&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-44 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lfs-logo-300x138.png?resize=300%2C138&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"138\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>* Read the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lfs.org\/blog\/a-40th-anniversary-retrospective-introducing-a-readers-guide-to-the-prometheus-award-winners\/\"><strong>introductory essay<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0of the LFS\u2019 40<sup>th\u00a0<\/sup>anniversary retrospective series of Appreciations of past Prometheus Awards winners, with an overview of the awards\u2019 four-decade-plus history, that was launched in 2019 on the 40<sup>th<\/sup>anniversary of the awards and continues today.<\/p>\n<p><strong>* Other Prometheus winners:\u00a0<\/strong>For a full list of winners \u2013 for the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards \u2013 visit the enhanced\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/awards.shtml\"><strong>Prometheus Awards page\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>on the LFS website, which now includes convenient links to all published appreciation-reviews of past winners.<\/p>\n<p>* Read\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/quillette.com\/2020\/06\/12\/the-libertarian-history-of-science-fiction\/\"><strong>\u201cThe Libertarian History of Science Fiction,\u201d<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0an essay in the\u00a0 international magazine\u00a0<em>Quillette<\/em>\u00a0that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant element of libertarian sf\/fantasy in the evolution of the modern genre.<\/p>\n<p>*\u00a0<strong>Join us<\/strong>! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/join.shtml\"><strong>join\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>the Libertarian Futurist Society (LFS), a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf\/fantasy fans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Michael Grossberg Before you can build and sustain a fully free society, in earth or in space, you have to be able to fully imagine it. Positive and persuasive visions of liberty &#8211; that can capture people&#8217;s imaginations as both desirable and feasible &#8211; are crucial to help sustain free and diverse societies where &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/sf-anthology-visions-of-liberty-imagines-future-worlds-without-government-part-two-of-an-appreciation-of-the-2005-special-prometheus-award-winner\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">SF anthology \u2018Visions of Liberty\u2019 imagines future worlds without government: Part Two of an Appreciation of the 2005 Special Prometheus Award winner<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43,2353,8,1166],"tags":[1298,75,1297,1135,161,1332,1330,1299,1326,1331,1328,1252,1325,1327,1329,702,64],"class_list":["post-3893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appreciations","category-book-reviews","category-review","category-special-awards","tag-baen-books","tag-brad-linaweaver","tag-give-me-liberty","tag-jack-williamson","tag-james-p-hogan","tag-jane-lindskold","tag-lloyd-biggle","tag-mark-tier","tag-martin-h-greenberg","tag-michael-stockpile","tag-mike-resnick","tag-robert-j-sawyer","tag-sturgeons-law","tag-the-rights-tough","tag-tobias-buckle","tag-visions-of-liberty","tag-voyage-from-yesteryear"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-10N","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3893"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7481,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3893\/revisions\/7481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}