Editing Starship Troopers (section)

===Criticism of militarism===
''Starship Troopers'' is generally considered to promote militarism, the glorification of war and of the military.{{sfn|Booker|Thomas|2009|pp=155–156}} 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.{{sfn|Franklin|1980|pp=111–112}}<ref name="Intersections"/> Science fiction writer [[Dean McLaughlin (writer)|Dean McLaughlin]] called it "a book-length recruiting poster".<ref name=Mclaughlin>{{cite journal|title=Dean McLaughlin Says Says |journal=The Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century Studies |date=March 1960 |volume=134 |url=http://www.panshin.com/critics/PITFCS/134mclaughlin.html |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227004156/http://www.panshin.com/critics/PITFCS/134mclaughlin.html |archive-date=December 27, 2013 }}</ref> 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."{{sfn|Panshin|1968|loc=chpt. 4, sec. 1}} 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."{{sfn|Panshin|1968|loc=chpt. 4, sec. 1}} 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.<ref name="Intersections"/>

A 1997 review of the film in ''[[Salon.com|Salon]]'' stated that the novel could almost be described as propaganda, and was terrifying as a result, particularly in its belief that the [[Recruit training|boot camp]] had to be an ingredient of any civilization. This was described as a highly unusual [[utopia]]n vision.<ref name="Salon"/> Moorcock stated that the lessons Rico learns in boot camp: "wars are inevitable, [and] that the army is always right".<ref name=Moorcock/> 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".<ref name=Myers>{{cite journal |last1=Myers |first1= Alan |title= Science fiction in the classroom |journal= Children's Literature in Education |date=1978 |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages= 182–187 |doi=10.1007/bf01150170|s2cid= 144972508 }}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Suvin|2008|p=124}}

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."<ref name=Price>{{cite journal|title=George Price Says |journal=The Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century Studies |date=October 1960 |volume=137 |url=http://www.panshin.com/critics/PITFCS/137price.html |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227004246/http://www.panshin.com/critics/PITFCS/137price.html |archive-date=December 27, 2013 }}</ref> 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."<ref name=Anderson>{{cite journal|title=Poul Anderson Says |journal=The Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century Studies |date=February 1960 |volume=133 |url=http://www.panshin.com/critics/PITFCS/133anderson.html |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227004301/http://www.panshin.com/critics/PITFCS/133anderson.html |archive-date=December 27, 2013 }}</ref> Complaints were made against Heinlein for the lack of conscription in ''Starship Troopers''. When he wrote the novel, the [[Conscription in the United States|military draft]] was still in effect in the US.{{sfn|Heinlein|2003|pp=483–484}}