Editing Starship Troopers (section)

===Allegations of fascism===

The society within the book has frequently been described as [[Fascism|fascist]].{{sfn|Booker|Thomas|2009|pp=155–156}}{{sfn|Cass|1999|p=52}}<ref name="Goss"/> According to the 2009 ''Science Fiction Handbook'', it had the effect of giving Heinlein a reputation as a "fanatical warmongering fascist".{{sfn|Booker|Thomas|2009|p=214}} 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.{{sfn|Cass|1999|pp=52–53}} [[Jasper Goss]] has referred to it as "[[crypto-fascist]]".<ref name="Goss"/> 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.{{sfn|Suvin|2008|pp=124–125}}

Some reviewers have suggested that Heinlein was simply discussing the merits of a selective versus a nonselective franchise.<ref name="JW"/> Heinlein made a similar claim, over two decades after ''Starship Troopers'''s publication, in his ''[[Expanded Universe (book)|Expanded Universe]]'' and further claimed that 95 percent of "veterans" were not military personnel but members of the civil service.{{sfn|Heinlein|2003|pp=396–404}} 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."<ref name=Gifford/>

[[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.{{sfn|Cass|1999|pp=52–53}} 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.{{sfn|Cass|1999|pp=52–53}} [[Ken MacLeod|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.{{sfn|Macleod|2003|p=233}} 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.{{sfn|Macleod|2003|p=231}} It has been argued that Heinlein's militarism is more [[Libertarianism|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.{{sfn|Booker|Thomas|2009|pp=155–156}}