Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by American

writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the
Starship Troopers
US suspending nuclear tests,[5] the story was first published as a
two-part serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction as
Starship Soldier, and published as a book by G. P. Putnam's Sons
in December 1959.

The story is set in a future society ruled by a human interstellar

government dominated by a military elite called the Terran
Federation. Under this system, only veterans of the military enjoy
full citizenship, including the right to vote.[6] The first-person
narrative follows Juan "Johnny" Rico, a young man of Filipino
descent, through his military service in the Mobile Infantry. He
progresses from recruit to officer against the backdrop of an
interstellar war between humans and an alien species known as
"Arachnids" or "Bugs". Interspersed with the primary plot are
classroom scenes in which Rico and others discuss philosophical
and moral issues, including aspects of suffrage, civic virtue,
juvenile delinquency, and war; these discussions have been
described as expounding Heinlein's own political views.[7] First edition hardcover
Starship Troopers has been identified with a tradition of militarism Author Robert A. Heinlein
in US science fiction,[8] and draws parallels between the conflict Cover artist Jerry Robinson
between humans and the Bugs, and the Cold War.[9] A coming-of-
age novel, Starship Troopers also critiques the US society of the Country United States
1950s, arguing that a lack of discipline had led to a moral decline, Language English
and advocates corporal and capital punishment.[7][10] Genre Military science
fiction
Starship Troopers brought to an end Heinlein's series of juvenile
novels. It became one of his best-selling books, and is considered Philosophical
his most widely known work.[11] It won the Hugo Award for Best fiction[1][2][3]
Novel in 1960,[3] and garnered praise from reviewers for its scenes Publisher G. P. Putnam's Sons
of training and combat and its visualization of a future Publication November 5, 1959[4]
military.[12][13] It also became enormously controversial because of date
the political views it seemed to support. Reviewers were strongly
Media type Print (hardcover and
critical of the book's intentional glorification of the military,[14][15]
paperback)
an aspect described as propaganda and likened to recruitment.[16]
The novel's militarism, and the fact that government service – most Pages 263 (paperback
often military service – was a prerequisite to the right to vote in the edition)
novel's fictional society, led to it being frequently described as ISBN 978-0450044496
fascist.[15][17][18] Others disagree, arguing that Heinlein was only
OCLC 2797649 (https://ww
exploring the idea of limiting the right to vote to a certain group of
w.worldcat.org/oclc/2
people.[19] Heinlein's depiction of gender has also been
questioned, while reviewers have said that the terms used to 797649)
describe the aliens were akin to racial epithets.[20] LC Class PZ7.H368 Su
Despite the controversy, Starship Troopers had wide influence both within and outside science fiction. Ken
MacLeod stated that "the political strand in [science fiction] can be described as a dialogue with
Heinlein".[2] Science fiction critic Darko Suvin wrote that Starship Troopers is the "ancestral text of US
science fiction militarism" and that it shaped the debate about the role of the military in society for many
years.[21] The novel has been credited with popularizing the idea of powered armor, which has since
become a recurring feature in science fiction books and films, as well as an object of scientific research.[22]
Heinlein's depiction of a futuristic military was also influential.[23] Later science fiction books, such as Joe
Haldeman's 1974 anti-war novel The Forever War, have been described as reactions to Starship
Troopers.[24] The story has been adapted several times, including in a 1997 film version directed by Paul
Verhoeven with screenplay by Edward Neumeier that sought to satirize what the director saw as the fascist
aspects of the novel.[25]

Writing and publication

Robert Heinlein was among the best-selling science fiction authors of
the 1940s and 1950s, along with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke;
they were known as the "big three" that dominated US science
fiction. In contrast to the others, Heinlein firmly endorsed the anti-
communist sentiment of the Cold War era in his writing.[26] Heinlein
served in the US Navy for five years after graduating from the United
States Naval Academy in 1929. His experience in the military
profoundly influenced his fiction.[27] At some point between 1958
and 1959, Heinlein put aside the novel that would become Stranger
in a Strange Land and wrote Starship Troopers. His motivation arose
partially from his anger at US President Dwight Eisenhower's
decision to suspend US nuclear tests, and the Soviet tests that
occurred soon afterward.[5] Writing in his 1980 volume Expanded
Universe, Heinlein would say that the publication of a newspaper
advertisement placed by the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear
Policy on April 5, 1958, calling for a unilateral suspension of nuclear
The cover of The Magazine of
weapons testing by the United States sparked his desire to write
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Starship Troopers.[28] Heinlein and his wife Virginia created the (November 1959), illustrating
"Patrick Henry League" in an attempt to create support for the US Starship Soldier
nuclear testing program. Heinlein stated that he used the novel to
clarify his military and political views.[29]

Like many of Heinlein's books, Starship Troopers was completed in a few weeks. It was originally written
as a juvenile novel for New York publishing house Scribner; Heinlein had previously had success with this
format, having written several such novels published by Scribner. The manuscript was rejected, prompting
Heinlein to end his association with the publisher completely, and resume writing books with adult
themes.[5][20][30] Scholars have suggested that Scribner's rejection was based on ideological objections to
the content of the novel, particularly its treatment of military conflict.[20][31]
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction first published Starship Troopers in October and November
1959 as a two-part serial titled Starship Soldier.[30] A senior editor at Putnam's, Peter Israel, purchased the
manuscript and approved revisions that made it more marketable to adults. Asked whether it was aimed at
children or adults, he said at a sales conference "Let's let the readers decide who likes it."[32] The novel was
eventually published by G. P. Putnam's Sons.[30]

Setting
Set approximately 700 years from the present day,[20] the human society in Starship Troopers is ruled by
the Terran Federation, a world government managed by military veterans.[6] The society is depicted as
affluent, and futuristic technology shown as coexisting with educational methods from the 20th century.[20]
The rights of a full citizen, to vote and hold public office, are not universally guaranteed, but must be earned
through Federal Service.[19] Those who do not perform this service, which usually takes the form of
military service, retain the rights of free speech and assembly, but cannot vote or hold public office. People
of either sex above the age of 18 are permitted to enlist. Those who leave before completing their service do
not receive the right to vote.[20][33] Important government jobs are reserved for federal service veterans.[6]
This structure arose ad hoc after the collapse of the "20th century Western democracies", driven in part by
an inability to control crime and juvenile delinquency, particularly in North America, and a war between an
alliance of the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia against the "Chinese Hegemony".[34]

Two extraterrestrial civilizations are also depicted. The "Pseudo-Arachnids" or "Bugs" are shown as
communal beings originating from the planet of Klendathu. They have multiple castes; workers, warriors,
brains, and queens, similar to ants and termites. The warriors are the only ones who fight, and are unable to
surrender in battle.[35] It is also implied that the Bugs are technologically advanced, possessing technologies
like spaceships.[36] The "Skinnies" are depicted as less communal than the Arachnids but more so than
human beings.[37] The events of the novel take place during an interstellar war between the Terran
Federation and the Arachnids.[38] At the beginning of the story, Earth is not at war, but war has been
declared by the time Rico has completed his training.[5] The Skinnies are initially allies of the Pseudo-
Arachnids, but switch to being allies of the humans midway through the novel.[37] Faster-than-light travel
exists in this future: spacecraft operate under the "Cherenkov drive", and can travel "Sol to Capella, forty-
six lightyears, in under six weeks".[39]

Starship Troopers is narrated by the main protagonist Juan "Johnny" Rico, a member of the "Mobile
Infantry". It is one of the few Heinlein novels which intersperses his typical linear narrative structure with a
series of flashbacks.[5][38] These flashbacks are frequently to Rico's History and Moral Philosophy course
in school, in which the teacher discusses the history of the structure of their society.[5][19] Rico is depicted
as a man of Filipino ancestry. He is from a wealthy family, whose members had never served in the
army.[5][20][33] Rico's ancestry is depicted to be a thing of no consequence, society having finally
abandoned racial and gender-based prejudice.[20]

Plot
The novel opens with Rico aboard the corvette transport Rodger Young (named after Medal of Honor
recipient Rodger Wilton Young),[40] serving with the platoon known as "Rasczak's Roughnecks". The
platoon carries out a raid against a planetary colony held by Skinnies.[20] The raid is relatively brief: the
platoon lands on the planet, destroys its targets, and retreats, suffering two casualties in the process. One of
them, Dizzy Flores, is rescued by Rico but dies while returning to orbit.[41] The narrative then flashes back
to Rico's graduation from high school. Rico and his best friend Carl are considering joining the Federal
Service after graduation; Rico is hesitant, partly due to his father's attitude towards the military.[5] Rico
makes his decision after discovering that his classmate Carmen Ibañez also intends to enlist.[42]

Rico's choice is taken poorly by his parents, and he leaves with a sense of estrangement. He is assigned to
the Mobile Infantry, and moves to Camp Arthur Currie (named for Arthur Currie who rose through the
ranks to general in World War I) on the Canadian prairie for his training under Sergeant Charles Zim.[43]
The training is extremely demanding.[44] Rico receives combat training of all types, including simulated
fights in armored suits.[45][46] A fellow recruit is court-martialed, flogged, and dismissed for striking a drill
instructor who was also his company commander.[47] Jean V. Dubois, who taught Rico's History and Moral
Philosophy class in school, sends Rico a letter, revealing that he is a Mobile Infantry veteran himself. The
letter helps Rico stay motivated enough not to resign.[48] Rico himself is given five lashes for firing a rocket
during a drill with armored suits and simulated nuclear weapons without ensuring that no friendlies were
within the blast zone, which in combat would have resulted in the death of a fellow soldier.[49] Another
recruit, who murdered a baby girl after deserting the army, is hanged by his battalion after his arrest by
civilian police.[49] Eventually, after further training at another camp near Vancouver, Rico graduates with
187 others, of the 2,009 who had begun training in that regiment.[50]

The "Bug War" has changed from minor incidents to a full-scale war during Rico's training. An Arachnid
attack that annihilates the city of Buenos Aires alerts civilians to the situation; Rico's mother is killed in the
attack.[51] Rico participates in the Battle of Klendathu, an attack on the Arachnid's home world, which turns
into a disastrous defeat for the Terran Federation.[52] Rico's ship, the Valley Forge, is destroyed, and his unit
is decimated; he is reassigned to the Roughnecks on board the Rodger Young, led by Lieutenant Rasczak
and Sergeant Jelal.[53] The unit carries out several raids, and Rico is promoted to corporal by Jelal, after
Rasczak dies in combat.[54]

One of his comrades in the Roughnecks suggests that Rico go to officer training school and try to become
an officer. Rico ends up going to see Jelal, and finds that Jelal already had the paperwork ready. Rico enters
Officer Candidate School for a second course of training, including further courses in "History and Moral
Philosophy".[55][56] En route from the Roughnecks to the school, Rico encounters his father, who has also
enlisted and is now a corporal, and the two reconcile. He is also visited in school by Carmen, now an
ensign and ship's pilot officer in the Navy, and the two discuss their friend Carl, who had been killed earlier
in the war.[57]

Rico is commissioned a temporary third lieutenant for his final test: a posting to a combat unit. Under the
tutelage of his company commander, Captain Blackstone, and with the aid of his platoon sergeant, his boot
camp drill instructor Fleet Sergeant Zim, who was reassigned from Mobile Infantry boot camp, Rico
commands a platoon during "Operation Royalty" a raid to capture members of the Arachnid brain caste and
queens.[58] Rico then returns to the officer school to graduate.

The novel ends with him holding the rank of second lieutenant, in command of his old platoon in the
Rodger Young, with his father as his platoon sergeant. The platoon has been renamed "Rico's
Roughnecks", and is about to participate in an attack on Klendathu.[59]

Themes
Commentators have written that Starship Troopers is not driven by its plot, though it contains scenes of
military combat. Instead, much of the novel is given over to a discussion of ideas.[60] In particular, the
discussion of political views is a recurring feature of what scholar Jeffrey Cass described as an
"ideologically intense" book.[17] A 1997 review in Salon categorized it as a "philosophical novel".[1] Critics
have debated to what extent the novel promotes Heinlein's own political views. Some contend that the
novel maintains a sense of irony that allows readers to draw their
own conclusions; others argue that Heinlein is sermonizing
throughout the book, and that its purpose is to expound Heinlein's
militaristic philosophy.[17][19]

Militarism

Starship Troopers has been identified as being a part of a tradition

in US science fiction that assumes that violent conflict and the
militarization of society are inevitable and necessary.[8] Although
the Mobile Infantry, the unit to which Rico is assigned, is seen as a
lowly post by the characters in the story, the novel itself suggests
that it is the heart of the army and the most honorable unit in it.[44]
In a commentary written in 1980, Heinlein agreed that Starship
Troopers "glorifies the military  ... Specifically the P.B.I., the Poor
Bloody Infantry, the mudfoot who places his frail body between his Robert Heinlein in 1976
loved home and the war's desolation  – but is rarely appreciated  ...
he has the toughest job of all and should be honored."[14] The story
is based on the social Darwinist idea of society as a struggle for survival based on military strength. It
suggests that some conflicts must be resolved by force: one of the lessons Rico is repeatedly taught is that
violence can be an effective method of settling conflict.[20] These suggestions derive in part from Heinlein's
view that in the 1950s the US government was being too conciliatory in its dealings with communist China
and the Soviet Union.[18][60][61][62]

Heinlein draws an analogy between the human society in the novel, which is well-to-do but needs to be
vigilant against the imperialist threat of the Arachnids, and US society of the 1950s. Reviewers have
suggested that the Arachnids are Heinlein's analogue for communists. Traits used to support this include the
communal nature of the Arachnids, which makes them capable of a much higher degree of coordination
than the humans. Bug society is once explicitly described as communist, and is moreover depicted as
communist by nature; this has been read as implying that those with a different political ideology are
analogous to alien beings.[9][20][63] The related motifs of alien invasion, patriotism, and personal sacrifice
during war, are present, as are other aspects of US popular culture of the 1950s.[18] Commentators have
argued that Heinlein's portrayal of aliens, as well as being a reference to people in communist countries,
invokes the trope of a return to the frontier. The concept of the frontier includes a social-Darwinist argument
of constantly fighting for survival, even at the expense of indigenous people or, in the case of Starship
Troopers, of aliens. Heinlein suggests that without territorial expansion involving violent conquest of other
races, humans would be destroyed.[64] Scholar Jamie King has stated that Heinlein does not address the
question of what the military government and Federal Service would do in peacetime, and argues that
Heinlein has set up a society designed to be continuously at war, and to keep expanding its territory.[65]

Coming of age

Starship Troopers has been referred to as a bildungsroman or "coming-of-age" story for Rico, as he matures
through his tenure in the infantry. His training, both at boot camp and at officer candidate school, involves
learning the value of militarism, thus inviting the reader to learn it as well.[44] This is especially true of the
parts of his training that involve indoctrination, such as the claim by one of his instructors that rule by
military veterans is the ideal form of government, because only they understand how to put collective well-
being above the individual.[44] The story traces Rico's transformation from a boy into a soldier, while
exploring issues of identity and motivation,[19] and traces his overall moral and social development, in a
manner identified by commentators as similar to many stories about German soldiers in World War I.[66]
Rico's transformation has been likened to the common narrative within stories with military themes by
scholar H. Bruce Franklin. This typical narrative is that of a sloppy and unfit civilian being knocked into
shape by tough officers, whose training is "calculated sadism" but is depicted as fundamentally being on the
right side.[33] The letter Rico receives from Dubois, partly responsible for Rico "crossing the hump" with
his training, is shown as a turning point in his development.[20] The classroom scenes embedded in the
story serve to explain Rico's adventures, and highlight his reactions to events around. A notable example is
the execution Rico is forced to witness after a deserter from his unit murders a young girl; Rico is uncertain
of his own reaction until he remembers a lecture by Dubois in which the latter argues that "moral sense"
derives entirely from the will to survive.[20][67] The concept of the American frontier is also related to the
coming-of-age theme. Young protagonists across Heinlein's novels attain manhood by confronting a hostile
"wilderness" in space; coming-of-age in a military, alien context is a common theme in Heinlein's earlier
works as well.[68] Rico's coming-of-age has also been described as being related to his relationship with his
father; the journey "outward" through the novel also contains a search for Rico's childhood and a reunion
with his estranged parent.[69]

Moral decline

Starship Troopers also critiques US society of the 1950s, suggesting that it led young people to be spoiled
and undisciplined. These beliefs are expressed through the classroom lectures of Dubois, Rico's teacher for
History and Moral Philosophy. Dubois praises flogging and other types of corporal punishment as a means
of addressing juvenile crimes. It has been suggested that Heinlein endorsed this view, although the fact that
Dubois also compares raising children to training a puppy has been used to argue that Heinlein was making
use of irony.[10] The story is strongly in favor of corporal punishment and capital punishment, as a means of
correcting juvenile delinquents, part of a trend in science fiction which examines technology and outer
space in an innovative manner, but is reactionary with respect to human relationships.[7][24] As with other
books by Heinlein, traditional schools are denigrated, while learning "on the spot" is extolled: Rico is able
to master the things required of him in military training without undue difficulty.[20]

Dubois also ridicules the idea of inalienable rights, such as "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness",
arguing that people have only the rights that they are willing to fight and die for to protect.[34][67][70] The
novel appeals to scientific authority to justify this position; Dubois repeatedly states that his argument is
mathematically demonstrable, statements which have led scholars to label the novel "hard science fiction",
despite its social and political themes.[71] The "moral decline" caused by this situation is depicted as having
caused a global war between an alliance of the US, Britain, and Russia against the "Chinese Hegemony" in
the year 1987. Despite the alliance between the US and Russia, this war has been described as
demonstrating Heinlein's anti-communist beliefs, which saw "swarming hordes" of Chinese as a bigger
threat. The novel draws some comparisons between the Chinese and the Arachnids, and suggests that the
lessons of one war could be applied to the other.[70]

Reception
To Heinlein's surprise,[72] Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960.[73] It has been
acknowledged as one of the best-known and most influential works of science fiction.[2][11][22] The novel
is considered a landmark for the genre, having been described by a 1960 review as one of the ten best genre
books of 1959,[74] in a 2009 review as a key science fiction novel of the 1950s,[15] and as the best-known
example of military science fiction.[75] It was also a personal landmark for Heinlein; it was one of his best-
selling books, and is his best-known novel.[11] The novel has been described as marking Heinlein's
transition from writing juvenile fiction to a "more mature phase" as an author.[3] Reviewing the book with
others written for children, Floyd C. Gale of Galaxy Science Fiction wrote in 1960 that "Heinlein has
penned a juvenile that really is not. This is a new and bitter and disillusioned Heinlein". Rating it 2.5 stars
out of five for children, 4.5 stars for adults, and "?" for civilians, he believed that the novel would be "of
exceptional interest to veterans with battle experience  ... but youngsters will find it melancholy and
verbose".[76] Conversely, Michael Moorcock described it as Heinlein's last "straight" science fiction, before
he turned to more serious writing such as Stranger in a Strange Land.[77]

By 1980, twenty years after its release, Starship Troopers had been translated into eleven languages and
was still selling strongly. Heinlein nevertheless complained that, despite this success, almost all the mail he
received about it was negative and he only heard about it "when someone wants to chew me out".[72] The
novel is highly contentious.[3] Controversy surrounded its praise of the military and approval of violence, to
the extent that it has frequently been described as fascist, and its implication that militarism is superior to
traditional democracy.[3][78] Heinlein's peers were among those who argued over the book; a comparison
between a quote in Starship Troopers that "the noblest fate that a man can endure is to place his own mortal
body between his loved home and war's desolation"[79] and the anti-war poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" by
Wilfred Owen began a two-year discussion in the Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century
Studies from 1959 to 1961, with James Blish, Poul Anderson, Philip José Farmer, Anthony Boucher, John
Brunner, Brian Aldiss, among those debating Starship Troopers's quality of writing, philosophy, and
morality.[80]

The writing in Starship Troopers has received varied responses, with the scenes of military training and
combat receiving praise. In a 2009 retrospective, Jo Walton wrote that Starship Troopers was "military SF
done extremely well".[19] She went on to argue that "Heinlein was absolutely at his peak when he wrote
this in 1959. He had so much technical stylistic mastery of the craft of writing science fiction that he could
[tell the story] 'backwards and in high heels' and get away with it."[19] Others referred to it as very readable,
and found the military scenes compelling.[3][12][13] Heinlein's descriptions of training and boot camp in the
novel, based on his own experiences in the military, have been described as being rendered with remarkable
skill.[18] A 1960 review in the New York Herald Tribune praised the "brilliantly written" passages
describing infantry combat, and also called attention to the discussion of weapons and armor,[81] which,
according to other reviewers, demonstrated Heinlein's "undiminished talent for invention".[20] Scholar
George Slusser described the book in 1986 as the "ultimately convincing space-war epic", praising in
particular the "precisely imagined" weapons and tactics,[69] while a 1979 science fiction encyclopedia
referred to it as the "slickest" of Heinlein's juvenile books.[20]

Criticism of the style of the book has centered on its political aspects. Heinlein's discussions of his political
beliefs were criticized as "didactic",[12][81][82] and the novel was derided for "exposition [that was] inserted
in large indigestible chunks".[81] Author Ken MacLeod's 2003 analysis of the political nature of Starship
Troopers stated that it was "a book where civics infodumps and accounts of brutal boot-camp training far
outweigh the thin and tensionless combat scenes".[13] Scientist and author Brunner compared it to a
"Victorian children's book",[83] while the Science Fiction Handbook published in 2009 said that the novel
provided "compelling images of a futuristic military" and that it raised important questions, even for those
who disagree with its political ideology. However, it stated that the story was weak as a tale of an alien
encounter, as it did not explore alien society in any detail, but presented the Arachnids as nameless and
faceless creatures that wished to destroy humanity.[23] Boucher, founder of The Magazine of Fantasy &
Science Fiction, remarked in 1960 that Heinlein had "forgotten to insert a story".[81] A 1979 summary said
that though Heinlein's vision might verge on fascism, his tightly controlled narrative made his ideology
seem "vibrantly appealing".[20]

Criticism of militarism
Starship Troopers is generally considered to promote militarism, the glorification of war and of the
military.[15] Scholar Bruce Franklin referred to it in 1980 as a "bugle-blowing, drum-beating glorification"
of military service, and wrote that militarism and imperialism were the explicit message of the book.[16][84]
Science fiction writer Dean McLaughlin called it "a book-length recruiting poster".[85] In 1968 science
fiction critic Alexei Panshin called Starship Troopers a militaristic polemic and compared it to a recruiting
film, stating that it "purports to show the life of a typical soldier, with a soundtrack commentary by earnest
sincere Private Jones who interprets what we see for us." Panshin stated that there was no "sustained human
conflict" in the book: instead, "All the soldiers we see are tough, smart, competent, cleancut, clean-shaven,
and noble."[86] Panshin, a veteran of the peacetime military, argued that Heinlein glossed over the reality of
military life, and that the Terran Federation-Arachnid conflict existed simply because, "Starship troopers are
not half so glorious sitting on their butts polishing their weapons for the tenth time for lack of anything else
to do."[86] Literature scholar George Slusser, in describing the novel as "wrong-headed and retrogressive",
argued that calling its ideology militarism or imperialism was inadequate, as these descriptions suggested an
economic motive. Slusser instead says that Heinlein advocates for a complete "technological subjugation of
nature", of which the Arachnids are a symbol, and that this subjugation itself is depicted as a sign of human
advancement.[84]

A 1997 review in Salon stated that the novel could almost be described as propaganda, and was terrifying
as a result, particularly in its belief that the boot camp had to be an ingredient of any civilization. This was
described as a highly unusual utopian vision.[1] Moorcock stated that the lessons Rico learns in boot camp:
"wars are inevitable, [and] that the army is always right".[77] In discussing the book's utility in classroom
discussions of the form of government, Alan Myers stated that its depiction of the military was of an
"unashamedly Earth-chauvinist nature".[12] In the words of science fiction scholar Darko Suvin, Starship
Troopers was an "unsubtle but powerful black-and-white paean to combat life", and an example of agitprop
in favor of military values.[82]

Other writers defended Heinlein. George Price argued that "[Heinlein] implies, first, that war is something
endured, not enjoyed, and second, that war is so unpleasant, so desolate, that it must at all costs be kept
away from one's home."[87] Poul Anderson also defended some of the novel's positions, arguing "Heinlein
has recognized the problem of selective versus nonselective franchise, and his proposed solution does merit
discussion."[88] Complaints were made against Heinlein for the lack of conscription in Starship Troopers.
When he wrote the novel, the military draft was still in effect in the US.[89]

Allegations of fascism

The society within the book has frequently been described as fascist.[15][17][18] According to the 2009
Science Fiction Handbook, it had the effect of giving Heinlein a reputation as a "fanatical warmongering
fascist".[6] Scholar Jeffrey Cass has referred to the setting of the book as "unremittingly grim fascism". He
has stated that the novel made an analogy between its military conflict and those of the US after World War
II, and that it justified American imperialism in the name of fighting another form of imperialism.[90] Jasper
Goss has referred to it as " crypto-fascist".[18] Suvin compares Heinlein's suggestion that "all wars arise
from population pressure" to the Nazi concept of Lebensraum or "living space" for a superior society that
was used to justify territorial expansion.[91]

Some reviewers have suggested that Heinlein was simply discussing the merits of a selective versus a
nonselective franchise.[19] Heinlein made a similar claim, over two decades after Starship Troopers's
publication, in his Expanded Universe and further claimed that 95 percent of "veterans" were not military
personnel but members of the civil service.[92] Heinlein's own description has been disputed, even among
the book's defenders. Heinlein scholar James Gifford has argued that a number of quotes within the novel
suggest that the characters within the book assume that the Federal Service is largely military. For instance,
when Rico tells his father that he is interested in Federal Service, his father immediately explains his belief
that Federal Service is a bad idea because there is no war in progress, indicating that he sees Federal Service
as military in nature. Gifford states that although Heinlein's intentions may have been that Federal Service
be 95 percent non-military, in relation to the actual contents of the book, Heinlein "is wrong on this point.
Flatly so."[5]

Dennis Showalter, writing in 1975, defended Starship Troopers, stating that the society depicted in it did not
contain many elements of fascism. He argues that the novel does not include outright opposition to
Bolshevism and liberalism that would be expected in a fascist society.[90] Others have responded by saying
Showalter's argument is based on a literal reading of the novel, and that the story glorifies militarism to a
large extent.[90] Ken Macleod argues that the book does not actually advocate fascism because anybody
capable of understanding the oath of Federal Service is able to enlist and thereby obtain political power.[13]
Macleod states that Heinlein's books are consistently liberal, but cover a spectrum from democratic to elitist
forms of liberalism, Starship Troopers being on the latter end of the spectrum.[2] It has been argued that
Heinlein's militarism is more libertarian than fascist, and that this trend is also present in Heinlein's other
popular books of the period, such as Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
(1966). This period of Heinlein's writing has received more critical attention than any other, although he
continued to write into the 1980s.[15]

Apparent utopianism

The setting of the book is presented by Heinlein as utopian; its leaders are shown as good and wise, and the
population as free and prosperous.[6][20] Slusser wrote in 1987 that Starship Troopers depicts a world that is
"hell for human beings", but nonetheless celebrates the ideology of its fictional society.[84] The rulers are
claimed to be the best in history, because they understand that human nature is to fight for power through
the use of force.[44] The suggestion of utopia is not explored in depth, as the lives of those outside the
military are not shown in any detail.[20][23] The novel suggests that the militarist philosophy espoused by
many of the characters has a mathematical backing, though reviewers have commented that Heinlein does
not present any basis for this.[19][44]

Writers such as Farmer, Robert A. W. Lowndes, and Michael Moorcock have criticized the novel for being
a hypothetical utopia, in the sense that while Heinlein's ideas sound plausible, they have never been put to
the test. Moorcock wrote an essay entitled "Starship Stormtroopers" in which he attacked Heinlein and
other writers over similar "Utopian fiction".[77] Lowndes accused Heinlein of using straw man arguments,
"countering ingenuous half-truths with brilliant half-truths".[93] Lowndes further argued that the Terran
Federation could never be as idealistic as Heinlein portrays it to be because he never properly addressed
"whether or not [non-citizens] have at least as full a measure of civil redress against official injustice as we
have today".[93] Farmer agreed, arguing that a "world ruled by veterans would be as mismanaged, graft-
ridden, and insane as one ruled by men who had never gotten near the odor of blood and guts".[94]

Race and gender

Authors and commentators have stated that the manner in which the extraterrestrial beings are portrayed in
Starship Troopers has racist aspects, arguing that the nicknames "Bugs" and "Skinnies" carry racial
overtones. John Brunner compared them to calling Koreans "gooks".[83] Slusser argued that the term
"Bugs" was an "abusive and biologically inaccurate" word that justified the violence against alien beings, a
tendency which, according to Slusser, the book shared with other commercially successful science
fiction.[63]
Some of Heinlein's other works have also been described as racist, though Franklin argues that this was not
unique to Heinlein, and that he was less racist than the US government of the time.[95] Heinlein's early
novel Sixth Column was called a "racist paean" to a white resistance movement against an Asian horde
derived from the Yellow Peril.[96] In 1978, Moorcock wrote that Starship Troopers "set the pattern for
Heinlein's more ambitious paternalistic, xenophobic" stories.[77] Robert Lowndes argues that the war
between the Terrans and the Arachnids is not about a quest for racial purity, but rather an extension of
Heinlein's belief that man is a wild animal. According to this theory, if man lacks a moral compass beyond
the will to survive, and he was confronted by another species with a similar lack of morality, then the only
possible moral result would be warfare.[93]

The fact that all pilots in the novel are women (in contrast to the infantry, which is entirely male) has been
cited as evidence of progressive gender politics within the story, although the idea expressed by Rico that
women are the motivation for men to fight in the military is a counter-example to this.[19][23] A 1996
science fiction encyclopedia said that like much of Heinlein's fiction, Starship Troopers exemplified "macho
male culture".[97] The prosthetically enhanced soldiers in the novel, all of whom are men, have been
described as an example of the "hyper-masculinity" brought on by the proximity of these men to
technology.[98] The story portrays the Arachnids as so alien that the only response to them can be war.
Feminist scholars have described this reaction as a "conventionally masculinist" one.[99] Steffen Hantke has
described the mechanized suits in the novel, which make the wearer resemble a "steel gorilla," as defining
masculinity as "something intensely physical, based on animal power, instinct, and aggression". He calls
this form of masculinity "all body, so to speak, and no brain".[100] Thus, in Hantke's reading, Starship
Troopers expresses fears of how masculinity may be preserved in an environment of high technology.[101]
This fear is exacerbated by the motifs of pregnancy and birth that Heinlein uses when describing how the
soldiers in suits are dropped from spaceships piloted by women.[102] Though Rico says he finds women
"marvelous", he shows no desire for sexual activity; the war seems to have subsumed sex in this respect.[20]
A 1979 summary argued that despite the gestures towards women's equality, women in the story were still
objects, to be protected, and to fight wars over.[20]

Influence
Heinlein's books, and Starship Troopers in particular, had an enormous
impact on political science fiction, to the extent that author Ken MacLeod
has stated that "the political strand in [science fiction] can be described as a
dialogue with Heinlein," although many participants in this dialogue
disagree with Heinlein.[2] Science fiction critic Darko Suvin states that
Starship Troopers is the "ancestral text of US science fiction militarism" and
that it shaped the debate about the role of the military in society for many
years.[21]

In addition to his political views, Heinlein's ideas about a futuristic military

as depicted in the novel were deeply influential among films, books, and
television shows in later years.[23] Roger Beaumont has suggested that
Starship Troopers may some day be considered a manual for extraterrestrial
warfare.[103] Suvin refers to Juan Rico as the "archetypal Space
Soldier".[104] Starship Troopers included concepts in military engineering A real-life concept of
which have since been widely used in other fiction, and which have powered armor, an idea
occasionally been paralleled by scientific research. The novel has been cited popularized by Starship
as the source of the idea of powered armor exoskeletons, which Heinlein Troopers
describes in great detail.[84][105][106][107] Such suits became a staple of
military science fiction. Franchises that have employed this technology
include Iron Man, Exo Squad, Halo, District 9, Elysium, and Edge of Tomorrow.[22] During the shooting of
the classic science fiction film Aliens, director James Cameron required the actors playing space marines to
read Starship Troopers to understand their parts, and also cited it as an influence for the space drop, terms
like "bug hunt", and the cargo-loader exoskeleton.[108]

Starship Troopers had a direct influence on many later science fiction stories. John Steakley's 1984 novel
Armor was, according to the author, born out of frustration with the small amount of actual combat in
Starship Troopers and because he wanted this aspect developed further.[109] The 1988 Gainax OVA series
Gunbuster has plot elements similar to Heinlein's novel, depicting humanity arrayed against an alien
military.[107] Scholars have identified elements of Heinlein's influence in Ender's Game, by Orson Scott
Card, as well. Hantke, in particular, compares the battle room in Ender's Game to Heinlein's prosthetic
suits, stating that they both regulate but also enhance human agency.[110] Suvin suggests parallels between
the plots of the two novels, with human society in both stories at war against insect-like aliens, but states
that the story of Ender Wiggin takes a very different direction, as Ender regrets his genocidal actions and
dedicates his efforts to protecting his erstwhile targets.[104]

Conversely, Joe Haldeman's 1974 anti-war, Hugo- and Nebula-winning science fiction novel The Forever
War is popularly thought to be a direct reply to Starship Troopers, and though Haldeman has stated that it is
actually a result of his personal experiences in the Vietnam War, he has admitted to being influenced by
Starship Troopers.[111][112][113] Haldeman said that he disagreed with Starship Troopers because it
"glorifies war", but added that "it's a very well-crafted novel, and I believe Heinlein was honest with
it".[111] The Forever War contains several parallels to Starship Troopers, including its setting.
Commentators have described it as a reaction to Heinlein's novel, a suggestion Haldeman denies; the two
novels are very different in terms of their attitude towards the military. The Forever War does not depict war
as a noble pursuit, with the sides clearly defined as good and evil; instead, the novel explores the
dehumanizing effect of war, influenced by the real world context of the Vietnam War.[24] Haldeman
received a letter from Heinlein, congratulating him on his Nebula Award, which "meant more than the
award itself".[114] According to author Spider Robinson, Heinlein approached Haldeman at the awards
banquet and said the book "may be the best future war story I've ever read!"[115]

Harry Harrison's 1965 novel Bill, the Galactic Hero has also been described as a reaction to Starship
Troopers,[6] while Gordon R. Dickson's 1961 novel Naked to the Stars has been called "an obvious
rejoinder" to Starship Troopers.[116] Ring of Swords, written by Eleanor Arnason in 1993, also depicts a
war between two highly aggressive species, of which humans are one. The story deliberately inverts several
aspects of Starship Troopers; the story is told from the point of view of diplomats seeking to prevent war,
rather than soldiers fighting it; and the conflict is the result of the two species being extremely similar, rather
than different.[117]

Adaptations

1997 film

The film rights to the novel were licensed in the 1990s, several years after Heinlein's death. The project was
originally entitled Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine, and had been in production before the producers bought the
rights to Starship Troopers.[118][119][120] The film was directed by Paul Verhoeven (who found the book
too boring to finish), and released in 1997.[121] The screenplay, by Ed Neumeier, shared character names
and some plot details with the novel.[122] The film contained several elements that differed from the book,
including a military that is completely integrated with respect to sex. It had the stated intention of treating its
material in an ironic or sarcastic manner, to undermine the political ideology of the novel.[18][123] The
mechanized suits that featured prominently in the novel were absent from the film, due to budget
constraints.[100]

The film utilized fascist imagery throughout, including portraying the Terran Federation's personnel wearing
uniforms strongly reminiscent of those worn by the SS, the Nazi paramilitary.[124] Verhoeven stated in 1997
that the first scene of the film – an advertisement for the Mobile Infantry – was adapted shot-for-shot from a
scene in Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will (1935), specifically an outdoor rally for the
Reichsarbeitsdienst. Other references to Nazism include the Albert Speer-style architecture and the
propagandistic dialogue ("Violence is the supreme authority!").[125] According to Verhoeven, the references
to Nazism reflected his own experience in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II.[25][126]

The film reignited the debate over the nature of the Terran society in Heinlein's world, and several critics
accused Verhoeven of creating a fascist universe. Others, and Verhoeven himself, have stated that the film
was intended to be ironic, and to critique fascism.[78][127] The film has also been described as criticizing the
jingoism of US foreign policy, the military industrial complex, and the society in the film, which elevates
violence over sensitivity.[128] It received several negative critical reviews, reviewers suggesting that it was
unsophisticated and targeted a juvenile audience, although some scholars and critics have also supported its
description as satirical.[22][25][123][128] The absence of the powered armor technology drew criticism from
fans.[22][100] The success of the film's endeavor to critique the ideology of the novel has been disputed.[25]

Four sequels, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004),[129] Starship Troopers 3: Marauder
(2008),[130] Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012)[131] and Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017) were
released as straight-to-DVD films, respectively. In December 2011, Neal H. Moritz, producer of films such
as the Fast & Furious series and I Am Legend, announced plans for a remake of the film that he claims will
be more faithful to the source material.[132] In 2016 Mark Swift and Damian Shannon were reported to be
writing the film.[133] Commentators have suggested that a reboot would be as controversial as the original
book.[11]

Other media

From October to December 1988, Sunrise and Bandai Visual produced a six-episode Japanese original
video animation locally titled Uchū no Senshi with mobile infantry power armor designs by Kazutaka
Miyatake, based on Starship Troopers.[134] Dark Horse Comics, Mongoose Publishing and Markosia hold
the license to produce comic books based on Starship Troopers, written by authors including Warren Ellis,
Gordon Rennie and Tony Lee.[135][136] Avalon Hill published Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers in
1976, a map-and-counter board wargame featuring a number of scenarios as written in the novel.[137] In
1998, Mythic Entertainment released Starship Troopers: Battlespace. The web-based interactive game, in
which players battled each other in overhead space combat, allowed players to assume either Klendathu or
Federation roles, was developed alongside the film adaptation.[25][138] Starship Troopers: The Miniatures
Game was released by Mongoose Publishing in 2005, a miniature wargame which used material from the
novel, film, and animated TV series.[139] Spectre Media released Starship Troopers: Invasion Mobile
Infantry, a game for PCs, in 2012.[140]

References
Notes

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External links
Starship Troopers (https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1112) title listing at the Internet
Speculative Fiction Database
Starship Soldier parts one (https://archive.org/stream/Fantasy_Science_Fiction_v017n04_19
59-10_PDF/Fantasy__Science_Fiction_v017n04_1959-10_PDF#page/n103/mode/2up)
and two (https://archive.org/stream/Fantasy_Science_Fiction_v017n05_1959-11_PDF/Fanta
sy__Science_Fiction_v017n05_1959-11_PDF#page/n49/mode/2up) on the Internet Archive

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