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Starship Troopers [book]
Finished the audiobook on the flight home. Early in the book I wasn't sure if Heinlein was seriously advocating the position that only people with military service should be allowed to vote. At several points later one character or another will expound upon the theory of such a system's virtues. I accept it seriously posed as a thought experiment.
It is noted in the book that lots of systems have been suggested to have democracy limited so that just the 'good people' vote. Our own representative democracy was designed to filter up smarter people to make the important decisions and actually do the governing. Heinlein suggests that the 'good people' are the ones which truly have humanity's best interests at heart and that those who volunteer for military service and complete a grueling term of it have passed a test of that quality. They have proven their noble spirit of self sacrifice for the good of all, or at least had it pounded into them by some sergeant.
Of course I want to believe that there are plenty of good pacifists with all of our best interests at heart, but right now a solid test of that doesn't jump to mind. And of course in Starship Troopers the two year test of a military service term weeds out the weaklings without sufficient self-sacrifice and creates a nice stable society with a just government and a cherry on top (or was that Queen Elizabeth?). Perhaps I most mistrust the system because obviously I should be part of the voting populace but I totally couldn't handle boot camp.
Anyway, kinda fun to think about. I'm always looking for the magic element to make our own society and government work a little better.
It is noted in the book that lots of systems have been suggested to have democracy limited so that just the 'good people' vote. Our own representative democracy was designed to filter up smarter people to make the important decisions and actually do the governing. Heinlein suggests that the 'good people' are the ones which truly have humanity's best interests at heart and that those who volunteer for military service and complete a grueling term of it have passed a test of that quality. They have proven their noble spirit of self sacrifice for the good of all, or at least had it pounded into them by some sergeant.
Of course I want to believe that there are plenty of good pacifists with all of our best interests at heart, but right now a solid test of that doesn't jump to mind. And of course in Starship Troopers the two year test of a military service term weeds out the weaklings without sufficient self-sacrifice and creates a nice stable society with a just government and a cherry on top (or was that Queen Elizabeth?). Perhaps I most mistrust the system because obviously I should be part of the voting populace but I totally couldn't handle boot camp.
Anyway, kinda fun to think about. I'm always looking for the magic element to make our own society and government work a little better.