Since the thread about power armor got turned into a discussion of fascism and what makes a government good, bad, fascist, etc I was inspired to start a thread about governments in books that you'd like to use in a game or even live on.

I think the government in the novel "Haze" by L.E. Modesitt, Jr, was one of the best and most well thought out government's ever done in a SF novel, combining elements of democracy with some of the less objectionable or impractical parts of libertarianism with a high tech society.

The government of Haze was very difficult to understand at first and in some places almost looked communist or socialist to an outside observer, but actually was free market. The main issue was that on Haze, the TOTAL cost of something had to be figured in to it's price, and environmental costs were factored in because Haze had a delicate ecosystem that could not stand thoughtless treatment. I.E. you could pollute, but you had to pay a tax equal to the cost of cleaning it up.

There was free speech and expression on haze, but you could be sued for slander and libel under some complex laws.

I know most folks here haven't read haze, I hope that changes. But I think it had one of the best governments I'd ever seen in a novel.