Location: the South Pacific

Overview • People • Government • Economy • Trend • Analysis

The Democratic Republic of Harcness is a massive, socially progressive nation, ruled by Denzel with a fair hand, and remarkable for its hatred of cheese. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 3.938 billion love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Social Equality, Education, and Healthcare. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Asphixter. The average income tax rate is 81%, and even higher for the wealthy. A powerhouse of a private sector is dominated by the Tourism industry.

The government has declined to declare any particular religion as its 'official' one, the government is forced to pander to the will of every fruitcake politician, the Supreme Court vehemently protects civil rights and the right to privacy, and the nation's infamous boot camp is more brutal than most battlefields. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Harcness's national animal is the Log, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the Twile.

Harcness is ranked 4,202nd in the South Pacific and 85,918th in the world for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring -3 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.

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NationStates by Max Barry, author of and