Hello INGO,
I'm hoping to leverage INGO google-fu/bookmarks for help finding a specific essay I read years ago on the internet. It was about 2005, I would guess, and the web was not as cluttered as it now is. I think I bookmarked it, about 3 PCs and 2 browsers ago.
The essay had a clear libertarian slant (not in a bad way). It was well written, well constructed, and elements have stayed with me. I'm particularly interested in reading it again, just to see how much is still applicable. I do not recall the author, but I think it was connected to a blogger.
Anyway, here are the plot points:
1) Generically vague causation of early dystopia.
2) The protagonists' father had warned of bad things happening, in a curmudgeonly, easily-dismissed way.
3) The various political/economic issues culminated in huge numbers of people being placed in gov't housing, eating gov't food, doing gov't-sponsored menial tasks (or just wasting the day away).
4) Until the protagonist was visited by representatives of a corporate(?)/diplomatic agency(?). It turns out that the dad had bought for his son an insurance policy, for lack of a better description. The protagonist actually had the option of relocating to a land that, instead of centralizing everything to combat the economic/political issues, decided to de-centralize everything as much as possible. There were certain rules that were basically libertarian. It was not billed as a utopia, but had a different set of issues, but did appear to be successful.
So, the conflict was whether to stick with the familiar and "safe" or move to the unfamiliar and risky. I honestly can't remember what choice the protagonist made.
Any of you all familiar with the story?
TIA,
T
I'm hoping to leverage INGO google-fu/bookmarks for help finding a specific essay I read years ago on the internet. It was about 2005, I would guess, and the web was not as cluttered as it now is. I think I bookmarked it, about 3 PCs and 2 browsers ago.
The essay had a clear libertarian slant (not in a bad way). It was well written, well constructed, and elements have stayed with me. I'm particularly interested in reading it again, just to see how much is still applicable. I do not recall the author, but I think it was connected to a blogger.
Anyway, here are the plot points:
1) Generically vague causation of early dystopia.
2) The protagonists' father had warned of bad things happening, in a curmudgeonly, easily-dismissed way.
3) The various political/economic issues culminated in huge numbers of people being placed in gov't housing, eating gov't food, doing gov't-sponsored menial tasks (or just wasting the day away).
4) Until the protagonist was visited by representatives of a corporate(?)/diplomatic agency(?). It turns out that the dad had bought for his son an insurance policy, for lack of a better description. The protagonist actually had the option of relocating to a land that, instead of centralizing everything to combat the economic/political issues, decided to de-centralize everything as much as possible. There were certain rules that were basically libertarian. It was not billed as a utopia, but had a different set of issues, but did appear to be successful.
So, the conflict was whether to stick with the familiar and "safe" or move to the unfamiliar and risky. I honestly can't remember what choice the protagonist made.
Any of you all familiar with the story?
TIA,
T