Post by RS Davis on Jul 14, 2004 18:37:11 GMT -5
The Moon is a Harsh Mistrust
According to SciFiWire dated 20 January 04, the Robert A. Heinlein sci-fi classic The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is being scrutinized for a screenplay.
So why should yet another science fiction flick be of interest to libertarians? Here are a handful of whys:
Years ago, Liberty magazine did its first survey to find out where libertarians came from. I fell smack in the middle of the "typical" profile for my generation: white middleclass male teen grows up reading science fiction (in my day only outsiders called it sci-fi – to aficionados it was SF), later discovers Objectivism and spends several years as Ayn Rand clone, finally joins Libertarian Party. Most influential books: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
Why number two:
Quick skeletal sketch of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress: a former penal colony on the Moon (correction, "in" the Moon – insiders will get this) revolts against Earth's New World Order collectivist government. The rebels are lead by a computer mechanic with interchangeable gizmo-laden prosthetic arms, a beautiful radical organizer, an old self-styled "Rational Anarchist" Prof who claims affinity with libertarians and Randites, and a massive mainframe computer named Mike that is somehow "alive" and much more appealing than HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Why the Third:
The "Loonie" culture created by Heinlein is anarchistic, capitalistic, and individualistic, and "has been read as an allegory about libertarianism and its costs" (quoting SciFiWire again).
Hollywood being Hollywood, however, can we really trust Tinseltown tycoons to maintain loyalty to a plotline?
According to SciFiWire dated 20 January 04, the Robert A. Heinlein sci-fi classic The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is being scrutinized for a screenplay.
So why should yet another science fiction flick be of interest to libertarians? Here are a handful of whys:
Years ago, Liberty magazine did its first survey to find out where libertarians came from. I fell smack in the middle of the "typical" profile for my generation: white middleclass male teen grows up reading science fiction (in my day only outsiders called it sci-fi – to aficionados it was SF), later discovers Objectivism and spends several years as Ayn Rand clone, finally joins Libertarian Party. Most influential books: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
Why number two:
Quick skeletal sketch of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress: a former penal colony on the Moon (correction, "in" the Moon – insiders will get this) revolts against Earth's New World Order collectivist government. The rebels are lead by a computer mechanic with interchangeable gizmo-laden prosthetic arms, a beautiful radical organizer, an old self-styled "Rational Anarchist" Prof who claims affinity with libertarians and Randites, and a massive mainframe computer named Mike that is somehow "alive" and much more appealing than HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Why the Third:
The "Loonie" culture created by Heinlein is anarchistic, capitalistic, and individualistic, and "has been read as an allegory about libertarianism and its costs" (quoting SciFiWire again).
Hollywood being Hollywood, however, can we really trust Tinseltown tycoons to maintain loyalty to a plotline?
