The Democratic States of James Vance is a colossal, environmentally stunning nation, notable for its public floggings and restrictive gun laws. The hard-nosed population of 4.57 billion James Vanceans are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The relatively small, moralistic government juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Law & Order. The average income tax rate is 17.5%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The James Vancean economy, worth 220 trillion Delta Eagles a year, is led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Uranium Mining, and Beef-Based Agriculture. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 48,317 Delta Eagles, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.6 times as much as the poorest.

The government regrets to say that it is forced to make cuts to citizens, fewer people are bathing as citizens must show ration stamps before they can turn on their faucets, unpopular cops are fired at a moment's notice by the citizens they police, and fans doing the wave routinely disrupt the finals of Go tournaments. Crime is well under control, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. James Vance's national animal is the Kitsune, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

James Vance is ranked 70,331^st in the world and 4^th in Pravda Girls High School for Largest Gambling Industry, scoring 3,472.46 on the Kelly Criterion Productivity Index.