Eight science fiction books with lessons for economics

"Science fiction can remake the realm of economic possibility, whether by dreaming up new currencies or experimenting with radically different systems of exchange," writes Saanya Jain at Lit Hub. She tagged eight books that "engage in this kind of narrative speculation and offer glimpses of a more sustainable and just society," including:

Nisi Shawl, Everfair

Like much of science fiction, Everfair opens with a map of an imaginary land. Unlike it, this fictional world is nestled within Africa, specifically the contours of 19th-century Congo. The map serves as the jumping off point for an alternate history of the Congo in which British socialists buy land from the King of Belgium and help refugees build an independent socialist country. Called Everfair, this endeavor to build a society free of class exploitation and colonialism brings together diverse characters, from Chinese immigrants to African American missionaries.

Shawl’s epic sweeps across continents and decades to chronicle how differing visions for a socialist utopia inevitably clash. By imagining an attempt to build a more fair society in the past, she offers a blueprint for the future.

Read about another entry on the list.

Everfair is among Jae-Yeon Yoo's eight top anti-capitalist sci-fi & fantasy novels, Jennifer Giesbrecht's five favorite fantasy books steeped in history, Kate Heartfield's five favorite books featuring women in love with women, and Ginn Hale's five top alternate histories that embrace diversity.

--Marshal Zeringue