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Uh no. I have recently written an article about this very subject. Heinlein seems militaristic in the "starship troopers" but he effectively kills two of the co

Uh no. I have recently written an article about this very subject. Heinlein seems militaristic in the "starship troopers" but he effectively kills two of the concepts militarists love: the chosen one myth - that the soldiers, best ones at least, are chosen ones and they should be smart and brilliant and be a Nietzschean superman, and discipline myth - that because the soldiers are disciplined, they are better than civilians. You can read it in the chapters where Rico is inducted into Officer Training School, where Major Reed is giving the Moral Philosophy lesson again. Actually, if you take a look at the man's literary career I think he is just experimenting with the "what is best ruling regime?" "Starship troopers" is a possible answer, so is the "moon is a harsh mistress" and I even see the "Stranger in a Strange Land" in this light. My two cents.

vidarh 10y ago
Heinlein moved substantially politically over the years, from being a firm Democrat in his younger years (campaigning for the Democrats and attempting to win a seat to the California State Assembly as a Democrat in 1938, to becoming conservative in the early 50's, and right-libertarian and eventually describing himself as anarchist or autarchist (economically right wing anarchism, basically) by the 60's, and a lot of his works reflects pretty directly his political position at the time of writing. Starship Troopers is sometimes viewed as his "parting shot" to the left wing, though it was written several years after he ceased to consider himself a Democrat. While it probably wasn't as militaristic as it appears at a casual glance (he's elaborated on the ideas elsewhere in ways that further "softens" it), it did come at a time where his political views were evolving towards a more conservative and more authoritarian ideal (though that soon changed again).

vidarh 10y ago

Heinlein moved substantially politically over the years, from being a firm Democrat in his younger years (campaigning for the Democrats and attempting to win a seat to the California State Assembly as a Democrat in 1938, to becoming conservative in the early 50's, and right-libertarian and eventually describing himself as anarchist or autarchist (economically right wing anarchism, basically) by the 60's, and a lot of his works reflects pretty directly his political position at the time of writing. Starship Troopers is sometimes viewed as his "parting shot" to the left wing, though it was written several years after he ceased to consider himself a Democrat. While it probably wasn't as militaristic as it appears at a casual glance (he's elaborated on the ideas elsewhere in ways that further "softens" it), it did come at a time where his political views were evolving towards a more conservative and more authoritarian ideal (though that soon changed again).