![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Heinlein.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>Among my personal favorites:<\/p>\n
* author Karl Gallagher\u2019s tribute to Robert Heinlein and appreciation for his 2023 Hall of Fame winner, “Free Men.”<\/p>\n
* William H. Stoddard\u2019s illuminating essay on \u201cEconomics in Science Fiction\u201d (along with a critique of the common \u201coverproduction\u201d myth), and<\/p>\n
* a commentary on one of the most unheralded firsts of the year: basically, the first libertarian-individualist-themed sci-fi film to ever win the Oscar for best picture.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here is an overview and sampling (with convenient links and tantalizing excerpts to whet your appetite to read or reread them)) of those three excellent examples of the \u201cBest of the Blog\u201d in 2023:<\/p>\n GALLAGHER PAYS TRIBUTE TO HEINLEIN Here\u2019s an excerpt:<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a grim story, with the protagonist left bleeding out as his followers flee to a new hiding place,\u201d Gallagher writes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe premise is a USA occupied after losing WWIII, by an enemy willing to nuke towns as reprisals against guerillas. The kind of story that makes readers put the terms \u201cunpatriotic,\u201d \u201cdefeatist,\u201d or \u201cadvocating \u2018better red than dead\u2019\u201d in the letters cancelling their subscriptions.<\/p>\n \u201cSo why did Heinlein write it? And why do some readers love it?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a tale of heroism.<\/p>\n \u201cNot the dramatic, medal-winning heroism of charging forward to smash the enemy. But the unsung, dirty, necessary heroism of refusing to give up, making the enemy bleed, and preserving the ember of freedom…<\/p>\n \u201c…This story drives home that defeat isn\u2019t the end.<\/p>\n Keep working.<\/p>\n Keep fighting.<\/p>\n Organize your friends.<\/p>\n Build something. And win the struggle in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n ECONOMICS IN SCIENCE FICTION<\/strong><\/p>\n Among the year\u2019s most fascinating blog essays \u2013 offering insights unlikely to be found anywhere else but our distinctive blog \u2013 is William H. Stoddard\u2019s discussion (Nov. 5, 2023) of \u201cEconomics in Science Fiction: The Specter of Overproduction.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cScience fiction has mainly been based on the natural sciences, from astronomy to biology; economics and the other social sciences come on stage less often,\u201d Stoddard writes.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly, social science fiction was one of Isaac Asimov\u2019s three categories of science fiction (along with gadget stories and adventure stories\u2014as TV Tropes puts it, \u201cMan invents car\u201d can be followed by \u201clectures on how it works,\u201d \u201cgets into car chase,\u201d or \u201cgets stuck in traffic\u201d).<\/p>\n \u201cBut the premise for social science fiction was commonly a discovery or invention in the natural sciences, whose social and economic consequences are explored. It\u2019s not so common for science fiction to be inspired by an economic theory.<\/p>\n \u201cNonetheless, some theories have been the basis for science fiction stories. Economic issues are a major concern for libertarians; how science fiction deals with such issues is worth exploring.”<\/p>\n A LIBERTARIAN OSCAR WINNER?<\/strong><\/p>\n Several Prometheus posts offered commentaries on some of the year\u2019s cultural, social and artistic milestones, including the largely unheralded first time that a libertarian science-fiction film (or a film that came closer to that description than any before) won the Academy Award for Best Picture.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an excerpt:<\/p>\n \u201cDid something significant to science fiction \u2013 actually, unprecedented \u2013 just happen at the Academy Awards?<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t really highlighted in any media reports I came across, but isn\u2019t Everything Everywhere All at Once\u00a0<\/em>the first outright science fiction film to win the Oscar for Best Picture?<\/p>\n \u201cAnd not only that, but the Best Picture winner is especially intriguing to consider from a libertarian-futurist perspective: Is it possible that this year\u2019s Academy Awards recognized one of the most pro-freedom films to ever win an Oscar for best picture?<\/p>\n As Reason<\/em> magazine observed, the exhilarating, imaginative and poignant film doesn\u2019t embrace libertarianism or any other ideology per se. Instead, the movie dramatizes the crucial difference that making our own choices, amid life\u2019s inevitable challenges and uncertainties, can make in enhancing our pursuit of happiness.<\/p>\n The blog post\u2019s conclusion:<\/p>\n \u201c…its success \u2013 at the box office and with awards \u2013 is very encouraging as a sign that individualistic and libertarian values and themes continue to be explored and taken seriously within American popular culture.\u201d<\/p>\n And on that optimistic note, here’s to a Happier (and free-er) New Year!<\/p>\n IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE LFS: *\u00a0<\/span>Watch <\/strong>videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies (including the recent 2023 ceremony with inspiring and amusing speeches by Prometheus-winning authors Dave Freer and Sarah Hoyt),<\/b>Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Video page.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n * Join us!<\/strong><\/em> To help sustain the Prometheus Awards and support a cultural and literary strategy to appreciate and honor freedom-loving fiction, join<\/a> the Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf\/fantasy fans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Libertarian futurists believe that culture matters! We understand that the arts and literature can be vital, and in some ways even more powerful than politics in the long run, by sparking innovation, better ideas, positive social change, and mutual respect for each other\u2019s rights, individuality and human dignity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Michael Grossberg Although 2023 has ended, it\u2019s interesting and illuminating to look back at the highlights of the past year – and perhaps read an article that you may have overlooked. For the Prometheus Blog, there were quite a few memorable posts. Among my personal favorites: * author Karl Gallagher\u2019s tribute to Robert Heinlein … Continue reading The Best of the Blog: Three 2023 posts worth remembering (and rereading)<\/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":[41,1860],"tags":[1700,815,2167,2165,1891,870,1006,2166,268,21,620],"class_list":["post-6678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movies","category-robert-heinlein","tag-free-men","tag-aldous-huxley","tag-best-picture-winner","tag-economics-of-science-fiction","tag-everything-everywhere-all-at-once","tag-frederik-pohl","tag-karl-k-gallagher","tag-overproduction-fallacy","tag-prometheus-hall-of-fame","tag-robert-heinlein","tag-william-h-stoddard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-1JI","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6678","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=6678"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6741,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6678\/revisions\/6741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>
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\nIt\u2019s not often that an acclaimed science-fiction author contributes a review or essay to the blog, but much appreciated when one does! That happened this year, when Karl K. Gallagher, a frequent Prometheus Best Novel finalist and a huge Robert Heinlein fan, wrote \u201cHow and Why to Fight for Freedom,\u201d<\/a> an appreciation review-essay (Oct. 21, 2023) of Heinlein\u2019s story \u201cFree Men,\u201d the 2023 Prometheus Hall of Fame winner for Best Classic Fiction.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>His knowledgeable essay covers a variety of science fiction novels by such well-known authors as Frederik Pohl (The Midas Plague)<\/em>, Aldous Huxley (Brave New World)<\/em> and Heinlein (Beyond This Horizon<\/em>) \u2013\u00a0 and notably corrects common misconceptions about alleged overproduction.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/b>
\n<\/u><\/b>* Prometheus winners:\u00a0<\/b>For the full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees \u2013 for the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards \u2013 visit the enhanced\u00a0Prometheus Awards page\u00a0<\/b><\/a>on the LFS website, which now includes convenient links to all published appreciation-reviews of past winners since 1979.<\/p>\n