TL/DR: You can have a free society, you just have to limit the franchise to those who will wield that power responsibly. In Starship Troopers, the franchise is limited to those who have completed a period of public service (including, but not limited to, military service) under the idea that only those who have invested their own sweat into improving their society can be trusted to vote responsibly.
You can tell that Hollywood considers the book wrongthink from the fact that they’ve done a million other remakes but won’t touch this book with a ten foot pole.
Starship Troopers, his actual book and not the stupid movie. Sargon has an excellent breakdown of Heinlein's themes and political ideas in the book.
TL/DR: You can have a free society, you just have to limit the franchise to those who will wield that power responsibly. In Starship Troopers, the franchise is limited to those who have completed a period of public service (including, but not limited to, military service) under the idea that only those who have invested their own sweat into improving their society can be trusted to vote responsibly.
Every time the franchise has been expanded, it has damaged the United States. Amendments 15, 17, 19, 23, and 26 were all mistakes.
He is one of my favorite authors and in Starship Troopers I really love the idea of earning the right to vote. I’d love a proper adaptation.
You can tell that Hollywood considers the book wrongthink from the fact that they’ve done a million other remakes but won’t touch this book with a ten foot pole.