re: #153 jamesfirecat
The book directly calls out/counters your last point.
The recruiter is missing several limbs/has cybernetic replacements for them, and explains that if a deaf and blind person wanted to serve in order to get citizenship, theyâd find him a job counting the numbers of hairs on caterpillars somewhere that would qualify/theyâd find a qualifying position for someone no matter how physically disabled/uneducated a person is.
Also the main characters father is offered the chance at citizenship simply by running a factory that is producing war related goods.
You donât have to agree with Starship Troopers (I donât either) but it behooves us to keep each other honest.
Youâre correct; itâs been a long time since I read the book.
Iâm still of the opinion that nearly everyone is still a contributor to society in some fashion. As noted above, the context of âStarship Troopersâ is that Earth is facing an existential threat. Heinleinâs book also came out right after the USA suspended nuclear testing, but still viewed the USSR as an existential threat to the USA.