This was the tragic fallacy which brought on the decadence and collapse of the democracies of the twentieth century; those noble experiments failed because the people had been led to believe that they could simply vote for whatever they wanted… and get it, without toil, without sweat, without tears.
“Nothing of value is free.
What a prophet, that Heinlen. Collapse of democracies of the 20th century. OK, he missed by one century."
I agree. Great book. Every guy that reads should read it. A great guy book and I think women could get something out of it as well, but not really one aimed at women, IMHO. I don't agree with the premise that only those willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country should be the only ones to vote or hold office, but it is based on a sound general principal.
You have to have some skin in the game to make a sound decision. There is a reason poke is played with money. No money, and everybody plays out every hand, bluffing on every hand. What do they care. Add money, and you have to think long and hard if you want to raise the bet and go on. You need skin in the game. Tax payers have that. Property owners have that. Small business owners have that.
When I first read ST, I loved it so much that my wife wanted to read it to see what the fuss was about. She did, and it became one of her favorites as well. I think you’re right about it being an obvious “guy” book, as we see the value in the kinds of friendships discussed, but my wife loved it for the same reason she loved Atlas Shrugged... the sense of duty and fairness that is woven throughout, and the ability to compare our society with the one created by Heinlein. Especially considering our current political and social culture, I think women would enjoy the themes as well as men do. One of the best passages in the book, especially for my wife and me, being teachers, is the section in which the idea of juvenile delinquency is discussed. Heinlein even painted the late 20th century as a time of teenage lawlessness and school violence. School violence!! He wrote about it in 1959.