In Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein describes a quasi-democratic political system, embedded in a militaristic government, in which veterans are the only people who are full citizens and, therefore, have the right to vote. The United States experienced a plague of youth crime in the 1950s. Older generations believed that teenagers were lazy, reckless, lacking discipline, disrespectful of authority, and violent. In response, the United States focused on progressive solutions such as prevention and rehabilitation. Heinlein's novel is clearly a product of its time as he proposes a more direct solution to juvenile delinquency, while at the same time, criticizing democracy. Veterans are the only people who have the right to vote in Heinlein's society because, unlike juveniles in the 1950s, by serving in the federal service, veterans have proven that they are capable of making mature decisions that put the good of society before themselves. However, this same reactionary means of establishing a voting populace can be seen in early American voting rights. As colonists asserted their rights over the tyrannical rule of King George III, they also showed us the way in which voting rights came from the small number of leaders who, at the time, determined the values of society. The examples of voting rights in Heinlein's work of science fiction, alongside these historical illustrations, reveal how quasi-democratic systems, established by small groups of similarly minded people, will disenfranchise large and significant portions of the population and ultimately lead to revolution. (I am ok with that)
