You get the same sense of disorientation from the United States’ latest war against Iran, which has lasted either 47 years or 38 days, depending on who’s counting and which constitutional deadlines they’re worried about. If, indeed, there even is a war, as the Vice President recently mused aloud during an unusually hair-splitting press conference. In any case, it was certainly started by Iran, which has been inches away from a nuclear weapon since 1992. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.
Calling Trump a “fascist” might be a bit generous, as it suggests a certain level of competence and coherence. But he would probably like to be one. One of the genetic features of fascism—as Umberto Eco, an Italian philosopher who grew up under Mussolini pointed out—is a commitment to constant violence and struggle. “Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy,” Eco wrote. “It is bad because life is permanent warfare.”
That explains why this administration has such an erotic fixation on cruelty. There’s something almost pornographic about the way the “Department of War” revels in blowing up Colombian fishing boats and unarmed Iranian ships. George W. Bush committed his share of war crimes, but at least he had the modesty to cover them up properly. Chelsea Manning spent seven years in jail for leaking an airstrike on a group of reporters; Hegseth would have probably shown the video on Fox News.
Speaking of Fox News—there’s a talking head segment of Starship Troopers that could have come straight from the Murdoch network, complete with the constant interruptions. “Brain bugs?” scoffs an obnoxious host, in an exquisite Tucker Carlson impression. (He even has a bow tie.) “Frankly, I find the idea of a bug that thinks offensive!”
Its the perfect metaphor because the bugs are swarming at our borders and we have nowhere left to hide! Right?..
The book is completely different. The book promotes doing your civic duty and loyalty to the military, while the movie satirizes the message into something a bit more realistic and relatable.
Slightly related note: if you enjoy Starship Troopers (either the movie or the book), you should read Armor by John Steakley. It has a similar premise to Heinlein’s novel in that there is a war, there are bugs, and there are troops wearing power armor exoskeletons, and both books are on the military reading list, but that’s where the similarities end. Armor focuses more on the PTSD war inflicts on combatants, being dropped into life or death situations and watching the people around you die. It’s an action / horror type novel and it’s fantastic.
Heinlein wrote the book after hearing news that the US was stopping nuclear testing and it rustled his jimmies.
The society he envisioned is thoroughly influenced by his experience in the US Navy during WW2 but also very much from the perspective of a no-fooling boot nerd who was all in on militarism with absolutely no amount of critical thought applied to his vision or consideration for what that society would become even if you assume it could exist in the first place.
So, tl;dr Heinlein didn’t write a pro-fascist book, Verhoeven famously didn’t even read the book, and yet he was still right about what that society would have become if it ever existed.
There may be that, but he also wrote The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, which weirdly, goes into explicit detail about how to run your own terrorist network. Like when they started explaining the cell model, I thought it was just gone be a brief thing for the book, but then it goes into explicit direction on how to structure the cells to keep them from collapsing due to member capture.
“Not really” what? I was just making a suggestion for people to read it.
Removed the not really part. Was more meaning if you enjoy the movie, don’t expect the same from the book.
Yeah, but the book and the movie have very different messages. The book is an argument for why a militarist statocracy (which is fascism adjacent to the point they arent neighbors, they’re roommates) is the ideal form of government.
Why does that change anything? I just want people to know that the book is good. I always took it as a satirical take on militarism.
The movie is satirical, the book is not. It is completely serious. You see similar themes in other works by Heinlein.
Edit: also this is why musk named his AI after a word coined by Heinlein.
Ah, but that’s one take. I took it differently.
Thanks for your perspective.
I mean it simply wasn’t intended to be satirical. I’d call it more pro-classical republic than fascism though.
Actually has a quite a lot in common with Machiavelli’s vision of the ideal republic now that I think about it, which tracks with a literature nerd from the 40’s.
Of course, Mussolini and Gentile were literally inspired by Machiavelli’s works to try and “reform Rome” so…
Cool.