Pokemon: A Libertarian Utopia?
Posted: 2003-04-29 07:03am
Considering the following about the world Pokemon is set in:
There is no disernable form of government. You never hear of any nations in Pokemon, nor any form of government except for the occasional local city government. If there is any government at all, it must really keep to itself. Likewise, taxes are so low that they are seemingly non-existant, so anything you earn, you keep.
Everyone is armed. While guns don't seem to really exist in the land of pokemon, everyone seems to be carrying around and in command of some dangerous pokemon, which they can use to defend themselves and their loved ones and property against criminals.
Justice is swift and criminals always succumb to "citizens arrest". The government and local authorities don't ever tend to succeed in fighting crime, it is always the well armed citizen that prevails in foiling evil schemes. In a short order, the side of law and liberty always wins. Even the very world seems to bend to the will of law and order, with the laws of physics routinely changing to punish and brutalize lawbreakers, case in point, even boxes full of ice can become powerful explosives when Team Rocket is in the vicinity (this actually happened once). This is so reliable, that the Officer Jennys can get away with having high heels as part of their uniforms, since they rarely need to run with pokemon trainers always beating up criminals first. Likewise, corrupt fatcat officials, such as the mayor of that one town, end up getting their comeuppance by the end of the episode and lose authority.
Small businesses and barter of services rule the day. In the world of Pokemon, small businesses tend to be the best kind and hold their own against large corporations. Case in point, the best charcoal doesn't come from the factory that mass produces it, but rather comes from the that guy who lives near the Ilex woods in Johto, who goes out with his Farfetch'd, cuts and collects the wood himself, and hand chars the bricks. Everyone recognizes this. Likewise, if you want a pokeball, you can get the generic massproduced ones, but the good pokeballs come from the guy in Azalia Town who hand makes them with skill and discipline. Also, people tend to exchange services with each other. Case in point, in Azalia Town, Ash solved the problem for the town at the Slowpoke Well, so the pokeball guy offered to make him some brand spanking new pokeballs, assuming he'll go out and collect them, for his trouble. Throughout the series, Ash and gang get by on quid quo pro deals like that.
Anyone who is willing to work hard can be successful. No matter what your station in life, you can make it through hardwork and dedication. For instance, every time Jesse and James need a new giant robot for their schemes, you will often here them complaining about having to work some crappy jobs to pay for it. Likewise, being a successful pokemon trainer is obviously quite lucrative if you are good at it, as demonstrated by Gary Oak, who could afford to support a fancy sports car and a half dozen floozies (and they didn't look like cheap floozies either).
Large regard for values. Everyone in pokemon world seems to be uniformily one with the 50s style "values". For instance, with Brock, when we see the horny lad shimmery-eyed fantasies about the woman of the moment, his little mental thought cycle always has the girl and himself falling madly in love and getting married in a traditional ceremony. Never do you see him thinking him getting major head from Nurse Joy in the back room of the Pokemon Center or contemplating just how skillful the Officer Jennys are with those handcuffs. Everyone is idyllic and moral and responsible, and those that aren't tend to come to see the error of their ways by the end of the episode or get an assbeating.
Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys are involved in hot libertarian action on Proposition 69. Oh, come on, you know they do. (actually, this is an ongoing joke from my real life, which is obscenely funny to me, so it must be mentioned).
There is no disernable form of government. You never hear of any nations in Pokemon, nor any form of government except for the occasional local city government. If there is any government at all, it must really keep to itself. Likewise, taxes are so low that they are seemingly non-existant, so anything you earn, you keep.
Everyone is armed. While guns don't seem to really exist in the land of pokemon, everyone seems to be carrying around and in command of some dangerous pokemon, which they can use to defend themselves and their loved ones and property against criminals.
Justice is swift and criminals always succumb to "citizens arrest". The government and local authorities don't ever tend to succeed in fighting crime, it is always the well armed citizen that prevails in foiling evil schemes. In a short order, the side of law and liberty always wins. Even the very world seems to bend to the will of law and order, with the laws of physics routinely changing to punish and brutalize lawbreakers, case in point, even boxes full of ice can become powerful explosives when Team Rocket is in the vicinity (this actually happened once). This is so reliable, that the Officer Jennys can get away with having high heels as part of their uniforms, since they rarely need to run with pokemon trainers always beating up criminals first. Likewise, corrupt fatcat officials, such as the mayor of that one town, end up getting their comeuppance by the end of the episode and lose authority.
Small businesses and barter of services rule the day. In the world of Pokemon, small businesses tend to be the best kind and hold their own against large corporations. Case in point, the best charcoal doesn't come from the factory that mass produces it, but rather comes from the that guy who lives near the Ilex woods in Johto, who goes out with his Farfetch'd, cuts and collects the wood himself, and hand chars the bricks. Everyone recognizes this. Likewise, if you want a pokeball, you can get the generic massproduced ones, but the good pokeballs come from the guy in Azalia Town who hand makes them with skill and discipline. Also, people tend to exchange services with each other. Case in point, in Azalia Town, Ash solved the problem for the town at the Slowpoke Well, so the pokeball guy offered to make him some brand spanking new pokeballs, assuming he'll go out and collect them, for his trouble. Throughout the series, Ash and gang get by on quid quo pro deals like that.
Anyone who is willing to work hard can be successful. No matter what your station in life, you can make it through hardwork and dedication. For instance, every time Jesse and James need a new giant robot for their schemes, you will often here them complaining about having to work some crappy jobs to pay for it. Likewise, being a successful pokemon trainer is obviously quite lucrative if you are good at it, as demonstrated by Gary Oak, who could afford to support a fancy sports car and a half dozen floozies (and they didn't look like cheap floozies either).
Large regard for values. Everyone in pokemon world seems to be uniformily one with the 50s style "values". For instance, with Brock, when we see the horny lad shimmery-eyed fantasies about the woman of the moment, his little mental thought cycle always has the girl and himself falling madly in love and getting married in a traditional ceremony. Never do you see him thinking him getting major head from Nurse Joy in the back room of the Pokemon Center or contemplating just how skillful the Officer Jennys are with those handcuffs. Everyone is idyllic and moral and responsible, and those that aren't tend to come to see the error of their ways by the end of the episode or get an assbeating.
Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys are involved in hot libertarian action on Proposition 69. Oh, come on, you know they do. (actually, this is an ongoing joke from my real life, which is obscenely funny to me, so it must be mentioned).
