OFF: Starship Troopers (was Classic Rock)

[Dave Berry]

On 12 Jan 17:40, M Holmes wrote:
> > Mike Moorcock, the main link between BOC & HW, wrote a critique of
> > Sci-Fi/Fantasy called "Starship Troopers".  As I recall, Heinlein and
> > various others were picked out for their right-wing authoritarian
> > tendencies.  This essay can be found in The Opium General.
>
> OTOH Heinlein wrote The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress which is if anything
> about libertarian subversion of authoritarian government.

IIRC, the book concentrates on the fight against the colonials.  It
doesn't say much about the society that the rebels set up for themselves,
apart from the fact that the main character gets fed up with it and
moves on to live further out at the end of the book.  The rebels
aren't organised along libertarian lines.  They are divided into
cells, who don't know each other.  They all follow the orders of
the men at the top, how in fact follow the plan of a machine that
embodies the will of the people (Ein volk, ein computer?).

Early on, Heinlein uses the favourite myth of idealogues everywhere:
that of the people uprising en masse for the right cause.  This has
been peddled by fascists, communists, and all sorts of would-be
dictators; but in practice a society policed by a mob throwing
you out of the airlock would not be a pleasant society in which to
live.  It's certainly not my idea of a free society.

Throughout his books, Heinlein reveals little sympathy or empathy
with his fellow human beings.  He is essentially an individualist,
believing only in his own superiority; the complete opposite of
someone who believes in democracy.  The protagonist of TMiaHM
is a classic example; he's a sociopath who can't live with in any
large society.

> Also, a book
> with a subversive AI called Mike Holmes is pretty hard to fault.

And how convenient of him to die at the end of the book!

There isn't much in The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress that has
anything to do with real politics, anywhere.

Dave.
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