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"Jennifer Government" by Max Barry is a satirical black comedy set in an extreme near-future world. The author has taken some trends he perceives in modern society, extrapolated them ad absurdum, and had fun seeing how ludicrous...
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"Jennifer Government" by Max Barry is a satirical black comedy set in an extreme near-future world. The author has taken some trends he perceives in modern society, extrapolated them ad absurdum, and had fun seeing how ludicrous he can make the consequences. In particular "Jennifer Government" satirises American capitalism, particularly corporate marketing departments, and that version of free market libertarianism which is so extreme that it is sometimes called anarcho-capitalism. The eponymous heroine Jennifer Government is one of the few remaining employees of a state which has been almost entirely privatised. For the two thirds of the world dominated by the USA, government, welfare, tax, and the welfare state have been abolished and the major companies run things to such an extent that most people change their surname to that of their employer. The police can be contracted out by private enterprise, or alternatively you can hire someone from the National Rifle Association. Marketing departments are capable of tricks such as setting up a few shootings of their own customers for the apparent theft of their products to create the impression that those products are so sought-after that people will kill for them. When I was at University I met a number of people who wanted to live in a world like the one described in "Jennifer Government" - they thought taxation is theft, money should be privatised, heroin and all other drugs legalised, etc. All political parties have had problems with hardliners taking over their student wings, and these people were so over-the-top that when they took over the student wing of the British Conservative party it was shut down by Norman Tebbit for being too right wing. (That's the UK equivalent of being thrown out of the John Birch society for being too right wing.) I had doubts at the time that "Anarcho capitalism" would be such a paradise to live under, and this book reinforces those doubts, but it works much more effectively as a satirical farce than it does as a serious political argument. "Jennifer Government" bears just enough resemblance to real world events to be funny, but if you take it too seriously you may be a trifle paranoid. However, if you're into black comedy or satirical humour, I would recommend that you read it. Comment | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)
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