Today’s topic comes from QSF member Jerry Lewandowski: “forms of government as portrayed in sci-fi/fantasy and how it reflects reality (or predicts accurately).”
There are many forms of government, but the big ones seem to be Capitalism, Socialism, Communism, Facism, and Monarchy – did I miss any?
My favorite example of sci fi reflecting the current governmental scene has to be Piers Anthony’s Bio of a pace Tyrant, where he projects modern Earth onto the Solar System, with Jupiter playing the part of the US.
Typically, Fantasy stories (at least High Fantasy) typically seem to involve Monarchies, or sometimes a form of Tyrant/Facist government, while future sci fi stories seem to run the gamut.
So my questions for today: How can we use Fantasy and Sci Fi to either reflect on the governments we have today, or to project what kind of governments could exist?