[SydneyFreedberg]

Great concept, great thread. Take a look at CJ Cherryh's Alliance-Union books, Downbelow Station, Heavy Time, and Hellburner particularly, for a world of widespread interstellar colonization with some deeply repressive and dysfunctional societies. Habitable worlds are vanishingly rare -- for much of the setting's history, there are only three known -- and provide irreplaceable organics for life support. Most colonies are orbital habitats ruled by aristocratic families, and ships take so long to travel between stars they tend to be run by families who live (and die) on board.

Colonization begins with a state-backed monopoly corporation, the Earth Company, being the only people with enough capital to build starships and space colonies, which in turn depend on Earth for life-support essentials. When another viable ecosphere is found, the ships and colonies start being able to break away, and war follows.....