SpongeBob SquarePants. A children's cartoon about a lovable sponge who has an obsession with his job, or the government's hidden agenda to push government stereotypes on impressionable children? In this article, I will be going through all of the major SpongeBob Squarepants characters and their corresponding government types.

SpongeBob. Well, well, well, the main character. We all know about the sponge who loves his job. He works and finds joy and becomes employee of the month every month. He fears being fired from his job and would break down at the thought of ever being let go. He loves his clearly flawed and money-hungry boss. SpongeBob has a cheerful outlook on life and constantly attempts to befriend the grumpy Squidward. His persistence is fear-inducing. Supposedly his joyous personality is meant to portray the joys of the capitalist lifestyle and is meant to persuade others to join in. He works for the big boss, gets low pay, and continues this cycle every day, without complaint. And soon enough, the children who watch SpongeBob will take on his lifestyle…

Mr. Krabs. The wonderful boss who centers his life around money and profit at the Krusty Krab. The one that sends SpongeBob on dangerous missions to deliver food as long as it gets him some coins. The one who sold SpongeBob for 62 pennies in the episode “Born Again Krabs”. Mmm, this capitalist crustacean is simply a goofball. At least, that’s what the cartoon would like you to think. But secretly, his ideals are slowly embedded in the children of America, crawling around in their minds like parasitic centipedes. And they too, will find joy in stepping over others for a couple bucks and selling off the ones that trust them the most in order to earn a profit.

Plankton. Is he really the villain or is he just misunderstood? Constantly overlooked by the western capitalist Mr. Krabs and sick of it, so he turned to a different outlook? Yes. Plankton is the dictatorial figure in the SpongeBob universe. His whole personality is trying to steal the krabby patty formula. This begs the question… Does he truly want to feed the populous and bring them happiness through food… or is there a more sinister ulterior motive? I have to say, it's definitely something more sinister. Duh. In The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie, Plankton uses mind controlling devices in the form of chum bucket hats to take over all of Bikini Bottom. We can clearly see that Plankton desires world domination - a true dictator. The way that the cartoon portrays Plankton as a villain, shows kids that dictators are not cool.

Patrick. This starfish is pretty easily recognizable as the anarchy government type. He lives under a rock. He does what he wants. He doesn't have a job, and simply exists as SpongeBob's lovable friend. Throughout the entirety of the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon, Patrick goes about doing whatever feeds his impulsive urges. He is in control of himself, yet his irresponsible personality also makes it so he’s never really in control of anything else. His anarchist self is loved by most children, as it signals to their inner animalistic instincts. As the children grow to love Patrick, they grow to love anarchy.

Sandy. The southern squirrel is self-sustained in her little globe. She represents what one who is separated from the material world can have. Eternal joy and happiness. She creates a barrier from the rest of the world and only interacts when she needs to or when she willingly wants to. But, at the end of the day, she returns home to her secluded piece of Bikini Bottom. She is who we all must aspire to be.

Squidward. Finally, Squidward is the slave of the capitalist world. He’s grumpy, hates SpongeBob, but comes to work nonetheless to make an earning. He gives his soul over to the Krusty Krab establishment to make a shabby living. He has other interests, but he can’t seem to make a living off of his clarinet-playing skills. This directly parallels how, in our society, we are taught to get a job that is secure and guarantees success. Most of the time, the arts are not included in this selection. Squidward represents the human experience in participating in working for the life-sucking capitalist world.