Panem – the fictitious utopia where global warming propagandist Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games is set – is the blueprint for a society that today’s state-socialists should openly seek to embrace.

The economy

At the heart of Panem’s success lies the nationalisation of key industries such as timber, mining and agriculture.

The economy is centrally planned by masterminds who, and this must be considered a stroke of genius, assign one industry to each district.

This has the beneficial side-effect of creating a strong bond amongst all the workers within a given district who all produce to serve the common good, not driven by greed but driven by the comradery that their work fosters.

It is indeed the absence of private ownership of the means of production which leads to that most vital of socialist goals – full employment. Not a soul willing to work need exist without purpose.

The enlightened planners of Panem are all too aware of the dangers that capitalism poses which leads them to strongly police all entrepreneurial activity. The black market that results is, too, eventually crushed by an efficient and watchful peacekeeping force.

It must be stressed again that the dangers of a market economy are evident to Panem’s leaders: in order to bring about the destiny of communism man must be changed in such a way that his wants shall never outstrip supply.

The press

The public media serve as an important source of information and entertainment (the Hunger Games (TM) make for an enthralling annual spectacle) not just for the proletariat – but also the appropriately large population of bureaucrats inhabiting the Capitol. Panem’s wise and charismatic leader, President Snow, is able to use the press to keep the populace up to date on the government’s efforts to serve its people.

Surveillance

The surveillance state has wide-ranging capabilities that allow the government to monitor any prohibited use of weapons by the citizenry. This severely restricts cruel hunting practices, preserving animal welfare in the districts. It also keeps chances of armed rebellion to a minimum.

Even when observed acts of hunting or trade of privately produced goods (capitalism) are not immediately punished, a record is kept in order to enforce stricter penalties on agitators when opportunity strikes. ‘Due process’ is, of course, a bourgeois practice and thus not indulged by Panem’s police force. However, a record of prior transgressions must be kept in order for the bureaucratic class to retain purpose and mental fortitude.

High-speed rail

Panem has high-speed rail!!!