Economic Systems of Speculative Fiction

Kate Wood

Introduction �  What is an economic system?

�  The system by which goods and services are produced, exchanged, and procured

�  Economic systems of science fiction �  Starvation economies �  “Real world” extrapolations

�  Post-scarcity economies �  Changes in the nature of commodities

Starvation Economies �  What is it?

�  An extreme shortage or constraint of necessary commodities

�  Real-world examples �  Inter-war Germany �  North Korea

�  Speculative fiction examples �  Moonrise trilogy, by Mitchell Smith �  “The Last of the Winnebagos”, by Connie Willis �  The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi

Late-Stage Capitalism �  What is it?

�  The neoliberal economic system in place today, characterized by corporate dominance and loss of political control by citizens

�  Real-world examples �  Especially USA

�  Speculative fiction examples �  Snowcrash, by Neal Stephenson �  The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi �  Merchant Princes series, by Charles Stross

Post-Scarcity Economy �  What is it?

�  An economic system in which constraints on supply have been eliminated, usually by some technology

�  Real-world referents: �  “Electrical energy too cheap to meter” �  Nanotechnology

�  Speculative fiction examples �  Star Trek �  Culture novels, by Iain M. Banks

Commodities? �  What is it?

�  A commodity is a good or service that people exchange, and which does not have an individual identity

�  Ex. Food products, cars

�  Science fiction challenges the nature of the commodity

�  Examples �  Neuromancer and Mona Lisa Overdrive, by William Gibson �  Roadside Picnic, by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky �  Clockwork Century series, by Cherie Priest �  Dune series, by Frank Herbert �  Bladerunner

So What? �  Economics changes how people interact, how

societies are structured, and how easy (or hard) a time a character will have in fulfilling their material needs

�  It also changes the nature of conflict and desire

Conclusion �  Economics is rarely mentioned in science fiction,

and science fiction rarely in economics

�  Current, possible, and older economic systems offer possibilities to speculative fiction �  Gift economy �  Extrapolation from today’s economy