History Main / SlidingScaleOfLibertarianismAndAuthoritarianism

* A∴A∴, the secret society beyond all secret societies in the ''{{Illuminatus}}''-trilogy believes in absolute freedom of thought and action. They very subtly influence the society in order to maximize individual freedoms, but they're crippled by their primary dogma that forbids them any direct interference with the normal society. Though their leader is old and wise enough to know that in the long term almost everything will work out, even if it means waiting for the civilization to collapse and rise again.

* Slaad from ''DungeonsAndDragons'' and proteans from ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', fittingly for embodiments of chaos.
* Extropia in the game ''EclipsePhase''.

* Formians from ''DungeonsAndDragons 3.5''. (And BeePeople in general.)

* [[VideoGame/BioShock Rapture]] began as this, but unfortunately was run by a {{hypocrite}} ControlFreak and quickly began dropping down the levels when the leader felt his control over "his" city was threatened. By the time of ''VideoGame/{{BioShock 2}}'', Rapture's in the "most authoritarian" category because its newest dictator holds the [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill exact opposite political philosophy to its founder]], and is also a ControlFreak.

* Slaad from ''DungeonsAndDragons'' and proteans from ''{{Pathfinder}}'', fittingly for embodiments of chaos.

* [[HiddenElfVillage Galt's Gulch]] in ''AtlasShrugged'' is a free-market anarchy. The world outside of it, on the other hand, is anything but.
* The planet Anarres in ''{{Literature/The Dispossessed}}'' by UrsulaKLeGuin is a libertarian socialist society where a state, government, prisons, and even money don't exist. People do jobs simply because they want to help keep things running and the only punishment that exists is social stigma. However by the time of the novel it has become increasingly authoritarian which is what motivates the protagonist to leave.

* ''[[ComicBook/VForVendetta V For Vendetta's]]'' [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Norsefire]].

* ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'''s [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Norsefire]].

* Most of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's "good" societies that aren't anarchist. Though given his [[DemocracyIsBad distaste for democracy]] most are government types that would normally be a bit higher on the scale.

* Earth in Creator/LarryNiven's Literature/KnownSpace has PopulationControl but very few laws... because the mental capability for lawbreaking was culled from the human race as a result of cutting up executed convicts for organ transplants, meaning eventually [[AllCrimesAreEqual all laws carried the death sentence]] so as to provide the public with transplants. Once they actually bothered to develop quality synthetic organs, the need for transplants disappeared, but the damage was done - "flatlanders" are pretty much stupid lemmings.

* {{Traveller}} is an odd-ball compared to the other examples here. Despite its massive battleships and it's lavish aristocracy the Imperium actually has a libertarian ideology and style of government, necessitated by the vast space it rules over. However the Imperial government will not take nonsense and can play pretty rough when it wants to. Local worlds vary in their "control rating" as do states outside the Imperium. Commerce is regulated but not particularly restricted and the Imperial law deals mostly with crimes regarding interstellar commerce (piracy, etc), crimes in specifically Imperial territory (normal crimes in a Starport), and crimes specifically against the Imperium (treason, murder of a Noble or his retainers while in Imperial service, etc), and so on. The Imperial government however interferes little in local customs unless it feels them [[MadeASlave outrageously abominable]] and even allows minor local wars to be fought as long as they don't make too much of a mess. It would probably be classed as libertarian normally but authoritarian at given times and places.

* In the ''Literature/GreatShip'' universe, there is very little restriction on what passengers of the [[PlanetSpaceShip Great Ship]] may do. So long as one pays their taxes and doesn't interfere with the other passengers or the activities of the Ship, they may do almost anything. Anything that somehow violates the few laws is punished by centuries ([[SocietyOfImmortals a minor inconvenience]]) in the brig or by catapulting the offenders off the ship via a railgun towards the nearest inhabited planet.

* ''Extropia'' in the game EclipsePhase.

* ''Anarchaos'', a novella by sci-fi writer Donald E. Westlake, features the titular planet, which was entirely colonized by devoted anarchists. However, their anarchist society quickly collapsed into chaos ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as the name implies]]), with ''zero'' rules. Murder, slavery and robbery are common, unremarkable activities. Something of the AuthorTract against anarchism, but [[TropesAreNotBad in spite of that a good read]].

* The ''Literature/AcrossRealtime'' series by Creator/VernorVinge features ungoverned civilizations. Most of the public pays for protection from a [[LawEnforcementInc private company]], and promises to obey something resembling laws as part of that agreement. But many of those companies are really more like crime insurance. And there are people who don't sign with any protection agency are respected. Heavy self-defense weaponry is common, though boasting about weapons of mass destruction can get you lynched. Vinge has stated he believes in this sort of society, but that to work it needs most of the public to be actively thinking about their long-term interests.

* Creator/KenMacLeod's Literature/FallRevolution series gives us not one but two anarchist Utopias, although only one of them was Libertarian (the other was Communist). Technically the anarcho-communist utopia was just as libertarian as the free-market one in the original sense of the word "libertarian"; which was actually coined by an anarcho-communist all the way back in 1857.

* Nicely [[GenreDeconstruction deconstructed]] in JenniferGovernment: instead of a privatised government being portrayed as a non-ironic MarySuetopia, the lack of rules (especially in [[CorruptCorporateExecutive business]]) is taken to the extreme of ''companies killing their teenage consumers to make their products seem cool''.

* This does not refer to economic neoliberalism, which in the US is often referred to as "libertarianism", but simply the absence of authority.

* Earth in LarryNiven's KnownSpace has PopulationControl but very few laws... because the mental capability for lawbreaking was culled from the human race as a result of cutting up executed convicts for organ transplants, meaning eventually [[AllCrimesAreEqual all laws carried the death sentence]] so as to provide the public with transplants. Once they actually bothered to develop quality synthetic organs, the need for transplants disappeared, but the damage was done - "flatlanders" are pretty much stupid lemmings.

* ''{{Redliners}}'' novel by David Drake

* The planet Anares in ''{{Literature/TheDispossessed}}'' by UrsulaKLeGuin is a libertarian socialist society where a state, government, prisons, and even money don't exist. People do jobs simply because they want to help keep things running and the only punishment that exists is social stigma. However by the time of the novel it has become increasingly authoritarian which is what motivates the protagonist to leave.

* ''Anarchaos'', a novella by sci-fi writer Donald E. Westlake, features the titular planet, which was entirely colonized by devoted anarchists. However, their anarchist society quickly collapsed into chaos ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as the name implies), with ''zero'' rules. Murder, slavery and robbery are common, unremarkable activities. Something of the AuthorTract against anarchism, but [[TropesAreNotBad in spite of that a good read]].

* {{Traveller}} is an odd-ball compared to the other examples here. Despite its massive battleships and it's lavish aristocracy the Imperium actually has a libertarian ideology and style of government, necessitated by the vast space it rules over. However the Imperial government will not take nonsense and can play pretty rough when it wants to. Local worlds vary in their "control rating" as do states outside the Imperium. Commerce is regulated but not particularly restricted and the Imperial law deals mostly with crimes regarding interstellar commerce (piracy, etc), crimes in specifically Imperial territory (normal crimes in a Starport), and crimes specifically against the Imperium (treason, murder of a Noble or his retainers while in Imperial service, etc), and so on. The Imperial government however, interferes little in local customs unless it feels them [[MadeASlave outrageously abominable]] and even allows minor local wars to be fought as long as they don't make to much of a mess. It would probably be classed as libertarian normally but authoritarian at given times and places.

** ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'': The Terrain Federation only allows military (and other risky forms of civil service) veterans to vote. However, unlike every real country that has service as a requirement for citizenship (i.e. Switzerland) it is not mandatory and they never institute a draft. Rico's non-voting civilian parents were quite wealthy.

* The solar system at the beginning of ''The Unincorporated Man''. In the incorporated system people are legally composed of shares, a percentage of which they own themselves, five percent of which are controlled by the government, some of which start out being owned by their parents but which can be bought after they reach legal adulthood and some of which can be purchased by anyone including themselves. The goal of virtually everyone is to attain "majority". owning 51% or more of themselves. However laws are few and far between. By the second book, ''The Uninicorporated War'' the inner planets are becoming increasingly authoritarian while the Belt and outer planets are debating whether to retain a reformed version of the original system or become more libertarian.

* One State in ''Literature/{{We}}''

* The Imperium of Man from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. However, the Imperium is, by necessity, hugely decentralized, on account of the huge number of worlds. Because of this, the Empire allows individual worlds a great amount of latitude in governance (each planet has a planetary governor, but the way each planet selects it's governor runs the gamut from free, open elections to TrialByCombat) The Imperium does, however, always enforce tithes (basically planetary taxes to the central government, including a quota of psychic humans) and religion, mainly in the persecution of heretics and psykers.

* The planet Anares in ''{{LiteratureTheDispossessed}}'' by UrsulaKLeGuin is a libertarian socialist society where a state, government, prisons, and even money don't exist. People do jobs simply because they want to help keep things running and the only punishment that exists is social stigma. However by the time of the novel it has become increasingly authoritarian which is what motivates the protagonist to leave.

* Anarchaos, a novella by sci-fi writer Donald E. Westlake, features the titular planet, which was entirely colonized by devoted anarchists. However, their anarchist society quickly collapsed into chaos ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as the name implies), with ''zero'' rules. Murder, slavery and robbery are common, unremarkable activities.

* The planet Anares in ''The Dispossessed'' by Ursula K Le Guin is a libertarian socialist society where a state, government, prisons, and even money don't exist. People do jobs simply because they want to help keep things running and the only punishment that exists is social stigma. However by the time of the novel it has become increasingly authoritarian which is what motivates the protagonist to leave.

* Creator/KenMacLeod's Fall Revolution series gives us not one but two anarchist Utopias, although only one of them was Libertarian (the other was Communist). Technically the anarcho-communist utopia was just as libertarian as the free-market one in the original sense of the word "libertarian"; which was actually coined by an anarcho-communist all the way back in 1857.

* The Ministry of Magic from ''HarryPotter'', although by the seventh book it's nothing more than a [[TheManBehindTheMan front organization]] for the (extremely authoritarian) Death Eaters.
* The Alliance from ''{{Firefly}}'' is a free and democratic society, but with a huge number of rules that they are very serious about enforcing. Like every government, good and bad, the Alliance has some dirty laundry: [[spoiler:it practices human experimentation on its citizens without their consent]].

* Slaadi from ''DungeonsAndDragons'' and proteans from ''{{Pathfinder}}'', fittingly for embodiments of chaos.

* The United States in JenniferGovernment. Taxes of any kind are considered "socialist", and all functions of society are run by private companies. Schools are funded by corporations, hospitals are either privatised or religious charities, the Police (Inc.) are a PrivateMilitaryContractor. There are laws, but the only things we see that are actually branded as illegal are murder and destruction of property (insider trading is explicitly mentioned as perfectly legal), and if you can't pay to have crimes against you investigated, you're out of luck. The only punishment that exists is fines, paid to the victim or his/her dependents and if you can't pay, you're sent to a forced labour facility (which can get you even deeper into debt if you don't earn enough to pay for your food and board). [[spoiler: In the end, the corporate high-ups decide that a lawless capitalist anarchy is worse than having some outside checks.]]