What do You think about Adiamante (1998)?
This was a really cool read. There is fascinating examinations on how morality is critical for a functional and successful society, but governments are prone to corruption and thus immorality, or at least a bastardization of the values it claims to uphold and represent. "Old Earth" in this book has a very interesting system worked out in that they don't reward the government or leadership positions. They compensate those in power with manual labor after they've done their duty. This results in decreasing the likelihood of corruption. Actually, it's kind of brilliant. Dare I say more effective than "checks and balances". Having all this illustrated by the backdrop of a 10,000 year old banished race of cyborgs (cybs) returning to Earth to get revenge and/or steal technology and resources is pretty sci-fi awesomeness, too.
—Justin
