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''Jennifer Government'' is a novel written by Max Barry. Published in 2003, it is Barry's second novel, following 1999's ''Syrup''. The novel is set in a dystopian alternate reality in which most nations (now controlled by the United States) are dominated by for-profit corporate entities while the government's〔As all non-charity organizations in the book have been privatized, the government and all former government controlled organizations' names are now capitalized as for-profit corporations' names are.〕 political power is extremely limited. Some readers consider it similar in satiric intent to George Orwell's ''1984'', but of a world with too little political power as opposed to too much. Consequently, the novel can be seen as a criticism of libertarianism. Many readers also see it as a criticism of globalization, although Barry claims he is not an anti-globalizationist.〔Barry, Max. He has created a game based on the novel: ''Jennifer Government: NationStates''. "(On Capitalism and Corporatism )". ''MaxBarry.com''. 20 January 2005.〕 The novel was titled ''Logoland'' for the German and Italian editions. The Brazilian edition was titled ''EU S/A'', translated as Me, Inc. but, can be seen as an abbreviation of ''Estados Unidos Sociedade Anônima'', which roughly translates to ''United States, Inc.'' in English.〔Barry, Max. "(Jen in Brazil )". ''MaxBarry.com''. 7 June 2005.〕 ==Setting== The story takes place over several years (what year exactly is never mentioned). The United States has taken over the entire Western Hemisphere (except for Cuba), South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, India, Japan, Oceania, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Myanmar, and (most recently) Australia. Russia is said to be affiliated with the US, but not fully absorbed; whether or not Russia actually belongs to the US is not explained. With so much land under the US's control, international trade is no longer necessary, and thus the US cuts itself off from countries that it has not yet taken over. Amongst these other countries is the European Union, which is labeled "socialist," though to what extent is debatable. The official language of all US holdings is now "American", formerly known as American English. British English and its associated accents no longer exist. In this period taxation has been abolished, which eventually leads to the U.S. adopting what is referred to as "capitalizm" (similar to anarcho-capitalism). In this new state, the Government is privatized, having to work within its budget. This makes the Government unable to write new laws or even hold elections, leaving its only function to be the prevention of crime. Crimes can also be solved, but the Governments' budget only covers investigations if the victim or the victim's family pays for it. Outside of the Government there are two other organizations of power: the Police and the NRA. The Police have since become privatized, having been reduced to a combination of law enforcement and mercenary agencies. They only get involved when contracted by interested parties. Meanwhile, the NRA has become a complete mercenary-for-hire organization able to deploy a fully equipped military force. Most large corporations are now divided into two massive customer loyalty programs, US Alliance and Team Advantage, which fiercely compete with each other. US Alliance members include Nike, IBM, Pepsi, McDonald's, and the NRA. Team Advantage members include the Police, ExxonMobil, Burger King, and Apple Computer. People take the surnames of the corporations they work for, and a person with two jobs hyphenates their name (e.g. Julia Nike-McDonalds). Charity workers can also use their charity's name in a hyphenated surname. Schools are now sponsored and controlled by corporations, such as McDonald's and Mattel. Though little is revealed about the current curriculum, it is hinted that many of the lessons are simply corporate propaganda. Children who attend school are given the corporate sponsor's name as a surname, but are parenthesized with their parents' employers in school directories, such as "Kate Mattel (Government)." Other notable aspects of US society include pre-payment before emergency services can be dispatched, the abolition of welfare, the complete deregulation of weapons, legalized drugs sold in supermarkets and privately owned roads with toll charges. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jennifer Government」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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