Just watched the Starship Troopers movies, in chronological order.
That includes the original Starship Troopers, and the 4 sequels:Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004), Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008), Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012), and Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017)
While the plots and circumstances of that fictional Federation never quite sat comfortably in my brain, I now know why.
Heinlein managed to create a culture that was in the middle (?) of an endless existential war against the bugs (Klendathu).
As a result, in that perpetual state of war, a society where citizenship was contingent on military service, and ruled by military suthority.
The totalitarian aftertaste of such movies isn't imaginary, because the Sky Marshall could declare anyone, even those civilians not under direct military authority otherwise, an enemy of the Federation and order their execution.
Infantry were routinely thrown into battle with weapons which required numerous hits to disable or kill the enemy. You would think a priority would be placed on weapons heavy enough to achieve one shot kills, instead of the multiple rounds needed. Of course, a decisive advantage would mean the war might come to an end, and with it the justification for the tightly held totalitarian government model.
The Mars settlers are routinely demeaned for wanting freedom.
One of the Sky Marshals was willing to destroy the planet (Mars) partly as an example of what happens to those who do not submit to the Federation without question, even though they had known about an infestation of the Klendathu on Mars for years and allowed it to develop to the point where destroying the planet seemed the viable choice.
That seeming viability was because communications from the planet had been cut off, and the truth was censored.
Decisions were being made based on the polled popularity of the Sky Marshall, not what was good policy, and even if they had been made on good policy, total control over media ensured that the people would think the decisions of the Sky Marshall were correct because their information was filtered.
(Only the actions of a few kept the destruction of the planet from becoming a reality, but this is fiction.)
It isn't hard to find unpleasant parallels in the well managed conflicts on our globe where the factions change slowly, but the troops and weapons keep getting cranked out, and the conflicts remain unresolved because there's a lot of money in killing and mutilating the youth of the world, and someone is cashing in and converting political capital. Where somehow, weapons manage to be at parity or nearly so, either through genuine development of weapons systems independently, or by someone stealing or selling the hard won technology to one or more enemies. All power structures benefit from this near balance, and all profit handsomely, even if their citizens are doomed to serfdom by the expenditures necessary to maintain the razor thin edge on their potential enemies.
If that requires "filtering" the information the masses are given, so be it.
If it requires the censorship of those who won't be 'filtered', done.
If those still won't shut up, there are ways, from 'accidents' to 'suicides' to 'tragic' and 'terrorist' acts, even if the government has to perpetrate them itself.
No matter how seemingly benevolent it may be to some, totalitarianism is what it is.
It is the only way creatures which lack a true hive-mind (like the Klendathu, that fictional adversary possess) can be induced to perform as if they had one, either willingly through accepting religiously the dogmatic propaganda to which they are subjected, or through the fear of reprisal.
We're seeing the results of filtered information, of the near hive-minded "thought" of large segments of our society, and like ants from different colonies, the clash is coming.
I still believe in the ideals our Founders sought to enshrine in a Government which prized the individual's Rights, with a minimum of governmental interference, clear cut rules, and the strength to apply them equally for all. However, we haven't had that except to pay lip service to that ideal during my lifetime. It would be nice to have it back for my grandchildren.
