The Dissociative State of Hardscrabble is a colossal, socially progressive nation, ruled by Dr Norvak Dolokai with a fair hand, and remarkable for its complete lack of prisons, unlimited-speed roads, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 8.515 billion Hardscrabbleans hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The large, liberal, outspoken government prioritizes Education, with Environment, Administration, and Healthcare also on the agenda, while Defense and Spirituality aren't funded at all. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Squash Flats. The average income tax rate is 95.9%.

The frighteningly efficient Hardscrabblean economy, worth a remarkable 1,406 trillion florgons a year, is highly specialized and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an impressive 165,219 florgons, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Cosmopolitan citizens ask what their countries can do for them, the nation's interest in space is at an all-time high while interest in saving the planet is at an all-time low, a common response to government PSAs is "well, DUH, obviously", and truth is often impossible to tell from fiction on the evening news. Crime is totally unknown. Hardscrabble's national animal is the wood shrew, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Hardscrabble is ranked 223,141^st in the world and 6,500^th in Balder for Largest Soda Pop Sector, scoring -13.8 on the Addison-Fukk Productivity Rating.