Elektrostaatsia

Elektrostaatsia is a fictional or speculative framework used in science fiction and theoretical discussions to describe a society in which public order, resource distribution, and policy outcomes are assumed to emerge from engineered electrostatic field configurations within the urban fabric. In this concept, the city’s architecture and infrastructure are imagined to interact with charged surfaces, insulating barriers, and controlled potentials to influence flows of people, goods, and information.

The term combines electro- with staatsia (state), signaling a hypothetical linkage between electrical fields and state organization. It is typically presented as a thought experiment or worldbuilding device rather than a real political system.

In practice within fiction or thought experiments, elektrostaatsia is not a demonstrated or feasible governance model. It is used to explore questions about privacy, autonomy, surveillance, inequity, and the limits of technologically mediated governance. Advocates may argue that non-coercive field effects could encourage desired patterns of behavior, such as energy efficiency or safety, while critics highlight ethical risks, technical feasibility concerns, and the potential for discrimination arising from field configurations.

In literature and worldbuilding, elektrostaatsia serves as a setting device to probe the social implications of ubiquitous technology and infrastructural control. It functions as a cautionary example regarding technocracy and the challenge of aligning complex physical systems with social values.

See also: Electrostatics; Urban planning in speculative fiction; Technocracy; Smart city.