The Dissociative State of Hardscrabble is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by Dr Norvak Dolokai with a fair hand, and renowned for its unlimited-speed roads, complete lack of prisons, and daily referendums. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic, cheerful population of 9.204 billion Hardscrabblers hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The large, liberal, outspoken government prioritizes Education, with Environment, Administration, and Healthcare also on the agenda, while Defense and Spirituality aren't funded at all. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Squash Flats. The average income tax rate is 96.5%.

The frighteningly efficient Hardscrabblean economy, worth a remarkable 1,612 trillion florgons a year, is highly specialized and mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an impressive 175,174 florgons, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

Crime is on the rise as online youths compete to vlog the most shocking scenes of violence, it's considered a civil right to be allowed to neglect and mistreat your own children, the state believes that nature-oriented summer camps will somehow solve youth crime, and the canal flows through the land like a twisty turny thing. Crime is totally unknown. Hardscrabble's national animal is the wood shrew, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Hardscrabble is ranked 217,590^th in the world and 9,857^th in The North Pacific for Lowest Overall Tax Burden, scoring -473.52 on the Hayek Index.