Bad idea. Don't we already have a military industrial complex that fights wars to make and sell weapon? Hello, Bolton? Hello, Cheney? You really want more of that?
I know, but I thought in Star Troopers universe service guarantees voting right? That is, only active and decommissioned members of the military are allowed to vote?
Yes. And in-universe, the reason for that is a total collapse of democratic institutions in favor of rule by authoritarian oligarchy, ultimately leading to shock military defeat by the Chinese (sounding familiar? Heinlein was ahead of his time).
Western democratic military overthrows the system in the aftermath, restores society to relative normal, but in order to have a political voice you have to have skin in the game. Civilians are guaranteed every single right and privilege of full citizens to prevent formation of an over-class, with the exception of voting and holding office. Also notable: current military can't vote either. Not even career military. Only once you leave service can you vote. To keep the military from becoming a self-serving power club, and keep it subservient to civilian government.
Also a reminder the film was done by a guy who read a few pages of Starship Troopers, decided "cultural conservatives are Nazis and this book is proof" and then did the film. The movie was a fun movie but fun aside, it's the CNN treatment of Heinlein's book.
Why can’t the thought of service to one’s own country include civil service projects/ relief work/ etc the list is long for that sort of thing. IMO doesn’t have to be militaristic oriented.
Not active. You get your citizenship, and your vote, after your service is up.
Do non-military jobs qualify as service?
Not really. If someone really unqualified applies for citizenship (quadriplegic, utterly blind, &c), they will be given two years of duty at the dirtiest jobs the Federation can think of (creating them, if necessary). But the implication in the book is that military service is preferred for the moral qualities it imparts, and so a person missing one limb may get an artificial one to enable them to earn their citizenship in the military.
The MiC exists because war is profitable by those who haven't been a part of the military, and see the military machine as a source of unlimited human capital, and expenditures to fuel their own want. Citizen Republics are slightly different, ask yourself how many people you know who've been deployed want to go back because they really want to go back.
The other difference is that in a Citizen Republic the government at reduced levels are the ones that take care of the day-to-day issues as well, this is akin to the olde days of the Roman Republics which were also a limited Citizen Republic. Building infrastructure, first on the ground for disasters, policing, and so-on were all part of the job, they also had to apply civilian law not military law in policing and whatnot.
Instead of a bureaucrat sitting in the capital deciding what needed to be done, it was left to the people directly in the area as to what needed to be done.
But aren't most of those bureaucrats and contractors inside the MiC veterans themselves? Yes, they were "directly in the area" for a few years, and the rest of their lives all in the bureaucracy system. It's no secret that the pentagon and the merchants of death have an incestuous relationship for a long time, that's why it's a complex.
Besides, the demand for boots on the ground action is diminishing. Why would they risk to get into the enemy territory when you can get the job done with a drone strike while sitting in Nevada?
I'll bet if you look at those people, you'll find nearly all of them flew a desk even when they were deployed. And they used contacts in order to massage themselves into the positions they got when they got outside of the fingers of the system itself. Remember, our entire political system has become corrupted to the point that you can be deployed and get 'combat experience' while never being shot at.
Boots on the ground will never be a diminishing thing, it'll be used more selectively in some cases. But if you want showing force and punching power for your buddies in the media to paint you up on, you're gonna send someone else's kids to die.
Service guarantees citizenship
But only after eight years. ;)
Bad idea. Don't we already have a military industrial complex that fights wars to make and sell weapon? Hello, Bolton? Hello, Cheney? You really want more of that?
It is a film reference.
That said, stop writing and watch Starship Troopers immediately.
I know, but I thought in Star Troopers universe service guarantees voting right? That is, only active and decommissioned members of the military are allowed to vote?
Yes. And in-universe, the reason for that is a total collapse of democratic institutions in favor of rule by authoritarian oligarchy, ultimately leading to shock military defeat by the Chinese (sounding familiar? Heinlein was ahead of his time).
Western democratic military overthrows the system in the aftermath, restores society to relative normal, but in order to have a political voice you have to have skin in the game. Civilians are guaranteed every single right and privilege of full citizens to prevent formation of an over-class, with the exception of voting and holding office. Also notable: current military can't vote either. Not even career military. Only once you leave service can you vote. To keep the military from becoming a self-serving power club, and keep it subservient to civilian government.
Also a reminder the film was done by a guy who read a few pages of Starship Troopers, decided "cultural conservatives are Nazis and this book is proof" and then did the film. The movie was a fun movie but fun aside, it's the CNN treatment of Heinlein's book.
In the original novel only veterans are allowed to vote actually, a term is 2 years barring the outbreak of a war.
Why can’t the thought of service to one’s own country include civil service projects/ relief work/ etc the list is long for that sort of thing. IMO doesn’t have to be militaristic oriented.
Not active. You get your citizenship, and your vote, after your service is up.
Do non-military jobs qualify as service?
Not really. If someone really unqualified applies for citizenship (quadriplegic, utterly blind, &c), they will be given two years of duty at the dirtiest jobs the Federation can think of (creating them, if necessary). But the implication in the book is that military service is preferred for the moral qualities it imparts, and so a person missing one limb may get an artificial one to enable them to earn their citizenship in the military.
Military service wasn’t the only way to serve to become a citizen. There were also civil service professions that qualified.
No. Read Starship Troopers. Awesome book.
The MiC exists because war is profitable by those who haven't been a part of the military, and see the military machine as a source of unlimited human capital, and expenditures to fuel their own want. Citizen Republics are slightly different, ask yourself how many people you know who've been deployed want to go back because they really want to go back.
The other difference is that in a Citizen Republic the government at reduced levels are the ones that take care of the day-to-day issues as well, this is akin to the olde days of the Roman Republics which were also a limited Citizen Republic. Building infrastructure, first on the ground for disasters, policing, and so-on were all part of the job, they also had to apply civilian law not military law in policing and whatnot.
Instead of a bureaucrat sitting in the capital deciding what needed to be done, it was left to the people directly in the area as to what needed to be done.
But aren't most of those bureaucrats and contractors inside the MiC veterans themselves? Yes, they were "directly in the area" for a few years, and the rest of their lives all in the bureaucracy system. It's no secret that the pentagon and the merchants of death have an incestuous relationship for a long time, that's why it's a complex.
Besides, the demand for boots on the ground action is diminishing. Why would they risk to get into the enemy territory when you can get the job done with a drone strike while sitting in Nevada?
I'll bet if you look at those people, you'll find nearly all of them flew a desk even when they were deployed. And they used contacts in order to massage themselves into the positions they got when they got outside of the fingers of the system itself. Remember, our entire political system has become corrupted to the point that you can be deployed and get 'combat experience' while never being shot at.
Boots on the ground will never be a diminishing thing, it'll be used more selectively in some cases. But if you want showing force and punching power for your buddies in the media to paint you up on, you're gonna send someone else's kids to die.