Culture, The

A futuristic utopian society, the Culture is the subject of 6 novels and also appears in a short story collection. An anarchy with socialist, democratic leanings, the Culture uses massive automation to free its citizens (people and sentient machines) from the necessity of providing for their own material needs. The ownership of property, objects or ideas is not recognized, and money has no use within the Culture.

Most Culture citizens spend their time pursuing recreational and leisure interests. Some citizens join the Contact section, which acts as the Culture's diplomatic wing (and, rarely, as a military force if necessary). The 'good works' of the Contact section are often held to provide a moral justification for the easy-going lifestyle of the rest of the Culture. A few people are accepted to join Contact's Special Circumstances arm, a sort of Cultural covert-operations division which deals with intervention in unstable and uncertain situations.

Record 825 - universe - Last update 28 Mar 2007, 23:09:10

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