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POOR_BEAST

So, I was catching up on my bad Heinlein, diligently
working my way through the stack...

Last on my list was _The Number of the Beast_,
and for good reason.  I knew that this entire
book was centered on the kind of thing I hate
most in the later Heinlein books: "the world
as myth" idea, an arbitrary universe where
anything can happen without rhyme or reason.

    But since my
    expectations
    weren't very high,
    I could enjoy           Like, why did Heinlein
    some of it, despite     choose to swap viewpoints
    various problems.       between the four main
                            characters when they all     (There's maybe *one*
                            sound alike anyway?          place where this
                                                         works, where we get a
                 And does Heinlein                       clear demonstration of
                 really believe that                     Jake's capacity for
                 there's no way a                        self-delusion.)
                 group of four people
                 can deal with each
                 other without strict
                 military discipline?


But anyway, even in the worst of Heinlein,
you can still find some interesting weird
ideas, like this one (Heinlein is
describing a different version of the
United States, on an alternate earth):

      "Taxation is low, simple-- and contains a surprise.
    The Federal government is supported by a head tax paid
    by the States , and is mostly for military and foreign
    affairs.  This state derives most of it's revenue from
    real estate taxes.  It is a uniform rate set annually,
    with no property exempted, not even churches, hospitals,
    or schools-- or roads; the best roads are toll roads.
    The surprise lies in this: _The_owner_appraises_his_own_
    property._"
     "There is a sting in the tail: _Anyone_ can buy
    property _against_the_owner's_wishes_ at the appraisal
    the owner placed on it.  The owner can hang on only by
    raising his appraisal _at_once_ to a figure so high that
    no buyer wants it-- and pay _three_years_back_taxes_ at
    his _new_ appraisal."


                                        (November 23, 2005)
The thing that's
interesting here is the
understanding of the use       Another thing that's
of market/auction              interesting is the
processes to get people        recognition that the
to reveal information;         nature of "markets"
and to reverse the             are very much
incentive for deception        creations of the laws    The common dichotomy
that would immediately         that are in play.        between "market" and
doom almost any other                                   "government" is a
form of "self-appraisal".        This, in a book        false one.
                                 written around the
                                 time Heinlein was      NATURALLY_FORCED
                                 happy to decribe
                                 himself as a
                                 "libertarian".

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