Editing Frank Herbert (section)

=== Political views ===
Herbert was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]<ref name="New Line">{{cite news|last=Durrani|first=Haris A.|title=Frank Herbert, the Republican Salafist|url=https://newlinesmag.com/review/dune-frank-herbert-the-republican-salafist/|work=New Line Magazine|date=December 31, 2021}}</ref> and an [[environmentalist]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Berry|first=Michael|title="Dune," climate fiction pioneer: The ecological lessons of Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterpiece were ahead of its time|url= https://www.salon.com/2015/08/13/dune_climate_fiction_pioneer_the_ecological_lessons_of_frank_herberts_sci_fi_masterpiece_were_ahead_of_its_time/|work=Salon|date=August 13, 2015}}</ref> His political views have been variously described as [[conservatism|conservative]],<ref name="New Line"/> [[reactionary|reactionist]],<ref name="Jacobin">{{cite news|last=Dite|first=Chris|title=What Draws Us to the Reactionary Darkness of Dune?|url=https://jacobin.com/2021/08/dune-herbert-science-fiction-conservatism|work=Jacobin|date=August 27, 2021}}</ref> and [[libertarianism|libertarian]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Kunzru|first=Hari|title=Dune, 50 years on: how a science fiction novel changed the world|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world|work=The Guardian|date=July 3, 2015}}</ref> Herbert was politically active within the Republican Party, and worked as a speechwriter for several politicians, including Senator [[Guy Cordon]]. Herbert also volunteered on the campaign of Republican William Bantz in the [[1958 United States Senate election in Washington|1958 Washington Senate election]], who unsuccessfully challenged the incumbent Democrat [[Henry M. Jackson]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Beck|first=Katherine|title=Herbert, Frank Patrick (1920-1986)|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/21248|work=[[HistoryLink]]|date=June 9, 2021}}</ref>

Herbert was a critic of the [[Soviet Union]]. He was a distant relative of the [[Republicanism in the United States|Republican]] senator [[Joseph McCarthy]], whom he referred to as "Cousin Joe". However, he was appalled to learn of McCarthy's blacklisting of suspected communists from working in certain careers and believed that he was endangering essential freedoms of citizens of the United States.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Herbert|first1=Brian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hmg0YFP52XcC&q=frank+herbert+like+mccarthy&pg=PA91|title=Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert|date=2003|publisher=MacMillan|isbn=978-0765306463|page=91|access-date=February 13, 2015}}</ref> Herbert also opposed [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|American involvement in the war in Vietnam]].<ref>"This was Frank Herbert, speaking from his own heart... It was a philosophy of [[non-violence]] that would ultimately lead to his involvement in the movement to stop the war in Vietnam." Herbert, Brian. (2003). ''Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert''. MacMillan. Retrieved February 13, 2015 (p. 157).</ref> He was also critical of [[social programs in the United States|welfare]], arguing that it increased dependence on the state.<ref name="New Line"/>

Herbert believed that governments lie to protect themselves and that, following the [[Watergate scandal]], President [[Richard Nixon]] had unwittingly taught an important lesson in not trusting government.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Herbert|first1=Brian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3SF08iQGpEC&q=frank+herbert+richard+nixon+provided+proof&pg=PT164|title=Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert|date=2003|publisher=MacMillan|isbn=978-1429958448|access-date=February 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://vasil.ludost.net/dunegenesis.pdf|title=Dune Genesis by Frank Herbert|website=Vasil.ludost.net|access-date=March 1, 2022}}</ref> He considered Nixon a better president than [[John F. Kennedy]], calling the latter "one of the most dangerous presidents this country ever had."<ref>{{cite news|last=Stone|first=Pat|title=Frank Herbert: Science Fiction Author|url=https://www.motherearthnews.com/sustainable-living/nature-and-environment/frank-herbert-science-fiction-author-zmaz81mjzraw/|work=MotherEarthNews|date=May 1, 1981}}</ref> He praised President [[Ronald Reagan]], for his pro-family and pro-[[individualism|individualist]] stances, while opposing [[Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration|his foreign policy]].<ref name="New Line"/>

In ''Chapterhouse: Dune'', he wrote:
{{blockquote|All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that [[power corrupts]] but that it is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted. | Frank Herbert | ''Chapterhouse: Dune''<ref name="chapterhouse"/>{{rp|59}}}}Frank Herbert believed civil service to be "one of the most serious errors we made as a democracy" and that bureaucracy negatively impacts the lives of people in all forms of government. He stated that "every such bureaucracy eventually becomes an aristocracy" and uses preferential treatment and nepotism in favor of bureaucrats as his main arguments.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IfgBX1EW00 |title=Frank Herbert speaking at UCLA 4/17/1985 |language=en |access-date=April 24, 2024 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>