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The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

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1966 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein

For the Jimmy Webb song based on this novel, see The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (song).

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The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is a 1966 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein about a 2075 revolt by a lunar penal colony against Earth's rule. Three million "Loonies" (lunar inhabitants) live in underground cities where a virtually anarcho-capitalist society has developed. When the Federated Nations threaten the colony's resources, computer technician Manuel "Mannie" O'Kelly-Davis, political agitator Wyoming Knott, and rational-anarchist Professor Bernardo de la Paz 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 the concepts of individual liberty, voluntary association, and free-market economics. The book also popularized the term TANSTAAFL ("There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Lunch"), which in the story underscores the Moon's harsh reality that every resource and every freedom carries a cost. The book is respected for its credible presentation of a comprehensively imagined future human society on both Earth and the Moon.[2]

Originally serialized monthly in Worlds of If (December 1965 – April 1966), the book was nominated for the Nebula Award in 1966[3] and won the 1967 Hugo Award for Best Novel.[4] The novel went on to influence later science fiction as well as discussions of economics, politics, and hacker culture.

Plot<br>[edit]

In 2075, the Moon (Luna) is used as a penal colony by Earth's government, with three million inhabitants (called "Loonies") living in underground cities. Most Loonies are discharged criminals, political exiles, and their free-born descendants; men outnumber women two to one, so polyandry and polygamy are the norm. Due to the Moon's low surface gravity, people who remain longer than six months undergo "irreversible physiological changes", and can never again live comfortably under Earth gravity, making "escape" back to Earth impractical.

The Warden holds power through the Federated Nations' Lunar Authority, but his main responsibility is to ensure delivery of vital wheat shipments to Earth; he seldom intervenes in the affairs of the discharged and free-born population, allowing a virtual anarchist or self-regulated pioneer society to develop.

Lunar infrastructure and machinery are largely managed and controlled by "HOLMES IV" ("High-Optional, Logical, Multi-Evaluating Supervisor, Mark IV"), the Lunar Authority's master computer, on the premise that having a single, large-capacity computer to run everything is cheaper (though not safer) than multiple...