The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Lore & Background

The novel is set in 2075 on the Moon, used as a penal colony by Earth's government. Three million inhabitants, called Loonies, live in underground cities where a virtually anarcho-capitalist society has developed. The story follows computer technician Manuel 'Mannie' O'Kelly-Davis, political agitator Wyoming Knott, and rational-anarchist Professor Bernardo de la Paz, who join forces with 'Mike,' a self-aware supercomputer, to plan an independence movement timed to culminate on July 4, 2076. The novel explores libertarian ideals, focusing on individual liberty, voluntary association, and free-market economics, and popularized the term TANSTAAFL ('There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Lunch').

Reader's Guide

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is significant for its comprehensive imagining of a future human society on both Earth and the Moon, and for its influence on later science fiction, discussions of economics, politics, and hacker culture. The novel won the 1967 Hugo Award for Best Novel and was nominated for the 1966 Nebula Award. Its themes of self-governance, resource management, and the costs of freedom have resonated in political and economic discourse. The character of Mike, a self-aware computer, and the use of a covert cell organization have also been cited as influential in hacker culture.

Did You Know?

• The novel was originally serialized monthly in Worlds of If from December 1965 to April 1966.
• The term TANSTAAFL, popularized by the novel, stands for 'There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Lunch.'
• The supercomputer Mike is named after Mycroft Holmes, brother of fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.
• The revolt is timed to culminate on July 4, 2076, the 300th anniversary of the United States' Declaration of Independence.