Papyrocracy

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Papyrocracy is a term in in Stanislaw Lem's Novel Memoirs Found in a Bathtub.

It describes the civilizational state of nations, depending on paper currencies and paper identities.

"Papyralysis ruined a great deal more than the economy. That entire period is rightly named the Era of Papyrocracy, for not only did papyr regulate and coordinate all group activities, but it determined, in some obscure way, the fate of individuals (for example, the "identity papyrs"). The functional and ritual roles of papyr in the folklore of that time (the catastrophe took place when Prechaotic Neogene was at its height) have yet to be fully catalogued. While we do know the meaning of some expressions, others remain empty phrases (cheks, dok-ments, ree-seets, etc.) In that era one could not be born, grow up, obtain an education, work, travel, marry or die except through the aid and mediation of papyr."

Lem uses this term as a pun on our current state of affairs, where Paper Currency is the medium of interaction for a great deal of the access to services and goods.