The Key Ideas in Robert Heinlein’s ‘Starship Troopers’

Robert Heinlein’s ‘Starship Troopers’ incorporates different nature, social, and gender clusters into a militaristic utopian society. Among those collections, Heinlein institutes several obvious differences between the two sides. The two nature groups divided in the story consist of the human race and the opposition, which are beings with characteristics that differ from humans and reside on other planets. The social structure outlined in the utopian society features a side of citizens with power and others who do not hold any political or social importance. Gender roles are also highlighted in the story with men and women making up the two halves. ‘Starship Troopers’ contains several instances of a strict division between two groups of individuals or beings to approve and honor one side while denouncing the other.

Heinlein introduces other races into the story to create conflict between the human race and the alien race. The aliens or other race hold values and operating practices which differ from those of the humans. The most notable opposition against humans in the story comes from the bugs, a pseudo arachnid race hailing from several distant planets. The drastic differences between the two sides focus mainly on the organizational structure and mindset about military participation. The human race in the story features a military with a heavily regimented system. Each military member is assigned a specific rank which corresponds to different castes and importance levels. When the Major is describing the enlisting process and the importance associated with it to Rico, he declares “Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination - devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues - which a man must develop himself; if he has them forced down him, he will vomit them out” (Heinlein, 195). Here, the Major reminds Rico of the weight serving one’s country holds but does not disregard the importance of being an individual. No one is required to give up their time and freedom for the good of the state, but they are encouraged and have the option to do so. On the contrary, the Bugs and their militaristic opposition against the humans are set up with key differences. Bugs honor a more collective mindset, with only three true tiers. The warriors and non-warrior bugs make up the masses, with each bug being identical and performing the same tasks. To add, the bugs are systematically bred for the sole purpose of fighting. They possess no defining characteristics on an individual basis and are easily replaces. When Rico explains the nature of the bugs, he describes them as “communal entities, the ultimate dictatorship of the hive” (Heinlein, 142). In this way, Rico recognizes the lack of individualism which exists in the Bug's race. Heinlein implements this drastic difference between the two sides of the war to complement the humans and condemn the bugs. The humans societal and militaristic system mirrors that of right-wing ideology which Heinlein supported during the Cold War. On the other hand, Heinlein created the bugs to represent the far left and communist ideals, which he very much opposed. The war between the humans and the bugs indisputably correlates to the Cold War, with Heinlein praising the humans for the individualistic approach while criticizing the Bugs and their more collective view of society.

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Robert Heinlein very obviously implements a divide between men and women in the story through small distinctions and details. Although there are no instances of outright discrimination or abuse towards women, Heinlein provides underlying's that exemplify the bias against women. When Rico gets jostled around during a trip on the spaceship, he explains “when a female handles a ship, there is nothing comfortable about it… But I must admit that Captain Deladrier knows her trade” (Heinlein, 7). Here, Rico brings in the concept of gender unnecessarily and associates an uncomfortable ride with a female pilot. In this way, Rico makes known his negative bias against women. The language Rico uses, specifically the phrase “I must admit” explains that Rico usually thinks poorly of women in this specific field, with Captain Deladrier as an exception. When Rico describes Carmen, a childhood friend of his who he ultimately enlists with, he explains that the “fact was, little Carmen was so ornamental that you just never thought about her being useful” (Heinlein, 29). Here, Rico does not bash or insult his friend, but he acknowledges his fundamental view of women. Rico adores Carmen and highlights her positive attributes and qualities previous to this part in the story yet does not see her as being 'useful'. This proves to be problematic, as Rico subconsciously reduces Carmen and women to a position below men. He believes men hold all of the responsibility and are to be the dominant gender. The position of women amongst the ranks of the military in the story's society highlights the structural flaws which exist in the society. From an organizational standpoint, women do not act as high ranking military officials, which is one of the few ways to advance socially in the story's society. To gain a high political standing and in turn gain power, one must ascend to high power in the military. As a result, men dominate the social and political side of the company which restricts the voice of women. Although there are no stated restrictions on women becoming high ranking generals or garnishing political power, the system is geared for women to fail. Heinlein undoubtedly instills a gender division in the story through the systematic and poor portrayal of women.

The story implements two unique social castes into the framework of the earthly society that possesses different levels of importance and influence. The society, known as the 'Terran Federation' features two main levels of people; civilians and citizens. The civilians are ordinary humans and are free to live on earth. Citizens are much like civilians except for one key distinction; they have the right to vote. The title of citizenship is granted to an individual after he or she completes two full years of service to the federation in some way, shape or form. When Rico explains the way his captain used to describe citizenship, he explicates “citizenship is an attitude, a state of mind, an emotional conviction that the whole is greater than the part… and that the part should be humbly proud to sacrifice itself that the whole may live” (Heinlein, 171). Here, Rico makes it abundantly clear that the Terran Federation holds the value of patriotism above everything else. Implementing this system of citizenship makes it obvious who has served and sacrificed and who has not. Those who have been honored and rewarded for their time and those who have not are belittled and not given a voice. The federation and the rules set forth make it “hard to enroll” in service and “so easy to resign” (Heinlein, 195), which ensures those who do enlist are genuine and carry the best interests at heart. Heinlein adds these different social and political castes to instill his personal belief that the most powerful and influential individuals should be the ones that have sacrificed the most, while also calling out those who do not.

The novel ‘Starship Troopers’ contains several instances of a firm division between a normalized race or group of people and an ‘other'. Through these divisions, Heinlein can applaud and approve one side while condemning the other. The human race in the story, which connects back to right wing-ideology at the time the book was written, highlights individualism while the bugs, which connect to left-wing communist ideology, are denounced. From a gender perspective, obvious details put men above women in all areas of society, speaking on behalf of Heinlein’s personal views. Last, those with the right to vote and those who cannot are divided in the social caste system of the planet, with those who sacrificed and served above those who have not.