The book is great:
“Mr. Dubois,” a girl blurted out, “butwhy? Why didn’t they spank little kids when they needed it and use a good dose of the strap on any older ones who deserved it — the sort of lesson they wouldn’t forget! I mean ones who did things really bad. Why not?” “I don’t know,” he had answered grimly, “except that the time-tested method of instilling social virtue and respect for law in the minds of the young did not appeal to a pre-scientific pseudo-professional class who called themselves ‘social workers’ or sometimes ‘child psychologists.’ It was too simple for them, apparently, since anybody could do it, using only the patience and firmness needed in training a puppy. I have sometimes wondered if they cherished a vested interest in disorder — but that is unlikely; adults almost always act from conscious ‘highest motives’ no matter what their behavior.”
Pretty sure Heinlein predicts the world will go to hell because everyone stopped spanking their kids.
The book was a rollercoaster ride. Heinlein himself was a Navy man and I wasnt sure what to expect.
From the first chapter, rather than being heroes, the mobile infantry are committing war crimes against an intelligent race (not the bugs). We also learn that the training is brutal and there is a big scene about how unfortunate it is someone gets kicked out, because it isn’t really their fault and now they will never vote. Not to mention people die in training. Seems more left than I thought.
Then we learn the history of the world. Heinlein predicted the sino-soviet split early, cool. Oh yeah and CIVILIZATION COLLAPSED BECAUSE EVERYBODY STOPPED SPANKING THEIR KIDS. And went too soft on juvenile criminals. Psychologists and their newfangled (in 1959) ideas are to blame.
By the end of the book, in spite of everything, the moral seems to be that military grunts are the backbone of human civilization. Also evolutionary pressures make war totally inevitable.
So… All sci fi is not left wing. All Hollywood sci fi is left wing.