The Red Garden of Old Hope is a titanic, efficient nation, ruled by The Shadow with a fair hand, and notable for its prohibition of alcohol, suspicion of poets, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, democratic, humorless, devout population of 21.972 billion Old Hopeans enjoy great social freedoms and frequent elections, where the majority of the populace regularly votes to increase its benefits at the expense of various hapless minorities.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, moralistic, socially-minded, outspoken government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Administration, Environment, and Spirituality. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Old Hope City. The average income tax rate is 82.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The thriving Old Hopean economy, worth a remarkable 1,464 trillion Feathers a year, is driven almost entirely by government activity, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, extremely specialized black market in Cheese Exports. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. State-owned companies are the norm. Average income is 66,665 Feathers, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Wars of expansion are described as "peacekeeping operations", most fires are already out by the time the bucket brigade gets to them, farmers sing lullabies to soothe their livestock to sleep, and trains and passengers alike are often late. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Old Hope's national animal is the Phoenix, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Old Hope is ranked 16,221^st in the world and 48^th in Forest for Largest Populations, with 22.0 billion capita.