The Allied States of Hardenville is a huge, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its irreverence towards religion, punitive income tax rates, and devotion to social welfare. The compassionate population of 880 million Hardenvilleans enjoy extensive civil rights and enjoy a level of social equality free from the usual accompanying government corruption.

The large, liberal, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 56.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but inefficient Hardenvillean economy, worth 33.2 trillion Chochskis a year, is quite specialized and led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Cheese Exports, Pizza Delivery, and Tourism. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 37,732 Chochskis, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Sports journals are full of uplifting puff-pieces on professional boxers, group photos of the members of parliament are often mistaken for family reunions, mantis shrimp studies is academia's fastest-growing field, and a formerly quiet little town is now booming as both a cult centre and a tourist attraction. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Hardenville's national animal is the Squirrel , which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Hardenville is ranked 264,085^th in the world and 220^th in Karma for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring -8.54 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.