Robert A. Heinlein

[Mistral]

I think many of you miss the point with Heinlein. He wasn't conservative or libertarian, at least in his prime. He was a man who saw things in practical terms and did not suffer fools gladly. If a solution to a problem made sense he went with it. He advocated clamping down hard on Communism while expressing a very liberal view of sex in society. He demanded accountability in government. He thought that a hands-off approach was best, but wanted individuals to take responsibility and get involved. A complicated man with complex views.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

None of that precludes his holding a particular ideological position, and he did favor conservative politics.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I think many of you miss the point with Heinlein. He wasn't conservative or libertarian, at least in his prime. He was a man who saw things in practical terms and did not suffer fools gladly. If a solution to a problem made sense he went with it. He advocated clamping down hard on Communism while expressing a very liberal view of sex in society. He demanded accountability in government. He thought that a hands-off approach was best, but wanted individuals to take responsibility and get involved. A complicated man with complex views.

Yeah, I agree with this, and it's why I always enjoyed reading his works. Like most other writers, I probably disagreed with him more than I agreed, but he was always interesting and thought provoking (in the true sense of the term).

 

[Mistral]

None of that precludes his holding a particular ideological position, and he did favor conservative politics.

Well, he subscribed to Campbell's Independent Man theory-that a man should stand on his own two feet, not rely on hand outs. So that makes him anti-Welfare State/Republican. And he believed in Teddy Roosevelt's attitudes. Which would alienate him from just about every modern Republican-none of whom are out there banging the drum for real social/business reforms. He wrote scifi, so claiming he was against change and for the status quo, as many do about Republicans, seems a little off the mark. He was Hawkish-but also ex-mil. And there are as many Democrats as Republicans in the military, IMO. So who can say on that front?

I dunno-his social perspective in terms of radical family structures would probably be enough to be reviled by most Republicans. And his religious views would send the right-wing Christians into a frenzy. So as to him fitting a modern conservative position-I don't know about that.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Definitely. This is why I love him. He throws both the Left and the Right into a tizzy.

 

[Mistral]

^^ Definitely. This is why I love him. He throws both the Left and the Right into a tizzy.

Agreed. And I was exposed to his philosophy at the tender age of 12. I tend to throw people of all stripes into a tizzy, to.