FROM THE AUTHOR My goal in writing The Luminar Papers was not just to entertain, but to awaken. This novel portrays life four decades from now in an America that has replaced democracy with corporatacracy, a form of government in which twenty-seven privately owned corporations control everything, including schools, government, churches, police, courts, prisons, and health care and retirement systems. Everything is privatized. There is no “public”; no voting; no civil liberties. Although this book is a work of fiction, the notion that the United States or other democracies could embrace plutocratic or autocratic forms of rule is no longer in the exclusive realm of science fiction. For many years, Freedom House — a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization — has documented the decline of democratic processes in the United States and around the world.* At the same time, the economic and political power of corporations has mushroomed, especially in the United States, because of lax enforcement of anti-trust laws**, massive tax breaks,*** and court rulings allowing them to contribute unlimited sums to election campaigns with no accountability.**** According to economists, increasing corporate power fuels income inequality and stifles economic growth.***** This book is not a prediction of what will come, but a warning of what could happen if Americans fail to defend democratic processes, civil liberties and due process.

__________________________________________________________________ *https://freedomhouse.org/issues/democracies-decline; https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2020/dropping-democratic-facade; and https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom- world/2020/leaderless-struggle-democracy/ **Joseph Stiglitz, “Three decades of neoliberal policies have decimated the middle class, our economy, and our democracy,” MarketWatch (May 13, 2019), retrieved May 9, 2020 from https://www.marketwatch.com/story/three-decades-of-neoliberal-policies-have-decimated-the-middle-class-our-economy-and-our-democracy-2019-05-13/ ***Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. ****Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010). *****Stiglitz, op. cit.

This book and the other two to follow are works in progress. Click "Read First 3 Chapters" to see more of the text. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated. Please email me at david@luminars.org and/or follow my blog, which will elaborate on the world as I see in 2059+.