This seems to be a very mainstream book, and I haven't seen any posts on it. Came out it '03, and the general description of the world it tramples on is undoubtedly anarcho-capitalist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Government
Seems like this guy Max Barry enjoys showing the "repurcussions" of what a libertarian society would be like. I'm only bringing this up because this is the first time I've heard of a fiction book directly blasting anarcho-capitalism.
EDIT
Okay, while under the natural rights approach what the book describes is corporatism, you still get the feeling that the author isn't too fond of libertarianism. The book just seems to blast privatization in general.
I was telling someone about ancap and they referenced this book. I havent read it so I cant respond to it. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is a good choice for ancap fiction.
Oh yeah, I've heard of that one. I've heard of another guy named Vernor Vinge who does a lot of libertarian-oriented sci-fi as well - seems like libertarianism is very much alive in the SF realm, especially since the Prometheus Award is given to SF books deemed "most libertarian." This book may have been written in opposition to all of that.
we need to tell them that intellectual property is also a fiction as well so we can get their books for free without having some sort of dispute.
Maxx Barry also hosts a free web game (no link, as this is not an ad :)), in which it's possible to have "excessive" civil rights. Too bad my account has expired, I would have shown you the descriptions of awful state of afairs in a country (eh, territory) in a terminal state of anarchism (which is where my state always ended). Rest assured, the kids were working 24/7, the poor were dying from common cold, and the gangs ruled the streets.
Oh yeah, the irony of having to edict your state to become an anarchy is another topic.
Sounds a bit like CyberNations.
Is this anything like Jennifer's Body?
Of course there is also a lot of socialist SF as well - take Star Trek for example. I'm a Star Trek fan, yet the world that it describes is certainly socialist. The way I see it, the United Federation of Planets = the United Nations. Also, I remember in First Contact that Picard referenced the fact that on Federation planets, there isn't money, which sadly echoes ideas of some grand socialist utopia where everyone can have everything they need for "free." And then there's that other episode when Troi talks to Mark Twain and tells him that in the 24th century that "we have eliminated poverty and hunger" because of government being organized to help out the poor.
Also, this:
http://lewrockwell.com/rep4/star-trek-pentagon-think-tank.html
I'm sorry, what were we talking about?
@ shackleford
If Megan Fox was an agent for a private corporation in an "anarcho-capitalist" (albeit corporatist) new order, then yes, I suppose the two are quite similar.
I haven't played it yet, but I've seen some folks say CivCraft (a sort of mod to Minecraft, multiplayer experience) is a more realistic game experience for AnCaps. It apparently has the ability to create any type of political setup and there is supposedly a very strong and prospering AnCap community there.
Based on the description I read, Jennifer Government in no way presents an anarcho-capitalist world. At "best", it presents a decidedly non-anarcho-capitalist world masquerading as one.
The keyboard is mightier than the gun.
Non parit potestas ipsius auctoritatem.
Voluntaryism Forum
You're right. It isn't anarcho-capitalist, yet it appears as though it's attempting to mimic right-wing anarchism in order to give it a false description, such as "corporations rule the world." It's doubtful that the author was attempting to make a statement against corporatism - usually when people write or direct anything that anarcho-capitalists would see as anti-corporatist, the creator looks at it as a statement against the free-market (i.e. Michael Moore).
From the description I read, the fictional society of Jennifer Government is one in which virtually all of the functions of the executive branch of the US government have been outsourced to private corporations. Not only is that not anarcho-capitalist, I wouldn't even say it's privatization (i.e. removing those functions from the purview of government altogether).
Yes, I don't really see the difference between the government paying 10 individuals to do something, and the government paying one group to do something.
... just as the State has no money of its own, so it has no power of its own - Albert Jay Nock
Yes, except that the implications are different.