Starship Troopers

by

Robert A. Heinlein

Communism Term Analysis

Communism is a philosophical, social, and political ideology strongly associated with the work of 19th century German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and Russian politician and revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. In broad strokes, communism seeks the creation of a socioeconomic system based on common ownership of property instead of social hierarchies, symbolic money, and rule by a centralized political class. In Starship Troopers, the Bugs’ society caricatures communism.

Communism Quotes in Starship Troopers

The Starship Troopers quotes below are all either spoken by Communism or refer to Communism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Militarism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6  Quotes

Of course, the Marxian definition of value is ridiculous. All the work one cares to add will not turn a mud pie into an apple tart; it remains a mud pie, value zero. By corollary, unskillful work can easily subtract value; an untalented cook can turn wholesome dough and fresh green apples, already valuable, into an inedible mess, value zero. Conversely, a great chef can fashion of those same materials a confection of greater value than a commonplace apple tart, with no more effort than an ordinary cook uses to prepare an ordinary sweet.

These kitchen illustrations demolish the Marxian theory of value—the fallacy from which the entire magnificent fraud of communism derives—and illustrate the truth of the common-sense definition as measured in terms of use.

Related Characters: Mr. Dubois (speaker)
Page Number: 116
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

“Law-abiding people,” Dubois had told us, “hardly dared go into a public park at night. To do so was to risk attack by wolf packs of children, armed with chains, knives, homemade guns, bludgeons … to be hurt at least, robbed most certainly, injured for life probably—or even killed. This went on for years, right up to the war between the Russo-Anglo-American Alliance and the Chinese Hegemony. Murder, drug addiction, larceny, assault, and vandalism were commonplace. Nor were parks the only places—these things happened also on the streets in daylight, on school grounds, even inside school buildings. But parks were so notoriously unsafe that honest people stayed clear of them after dark.”

Related Characters: Mr. Dubois (speaker), Johnnie Rico
Related Symbols: Terran Federation
Page Number: 143
Explanation and Analysis:
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Communism Term Timeline in Starship Troopers

The timeline below shows where the term Communism appears in Starship Troopers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6 
Citizenship Theme Icon
Moral Decline and Discipline Theme Icon
...demonstrate that work doesn’t always add value, and sometimes subtracts it. But although he declared communism a magnificent fraud, Mr. Dubois credited Marx for his understanding that “value” is relative, not... (full context)
Chapter 11
Communism vs. Moral Individualism Theme Icon
...a thousand Bugs at the same time—it’s a net victory for the bugs, because total communism, when practiced by a species evolutionarily adapted to it, is incredibly effective. (full context)