What is the result of endless war?

[Plane]

Thanks sirs.

As a thought experiment , consider Heinlein's Starship Troopers a society in which only those who have served in the military are ever allowed to vote or hold significant office.

Would we be more warlike or less in that circumstance?

[sirs]

Hmmm......good question.  I'm not sure I could be completely unbiased in my answer.  I would like to think it'd be like a deterrent, as though being so connected with the military, would make us less likely to be attacked by enemies.  But that may be too Hollywood thinking.  I also can't escape the notion of a Nazi war machine, where you either were part of the 3rd Reich, directly supported it, or.....were always looking over your back, since you were made to be unarmed by the state

[Plane]

Haha!

You beat me to the point I was going for!

Simple solutions , often are not.

[sirs]

I do what I can.     

[Xavier_Onassis]

As a thought experiment , consider Heinlein's Starship Troopers a society in which only those who have served in the military are ever allowed to vote or hold significant office.

Would we be more warlike or less in that circumstance?

================================================
We would cease to be a democracy, and we would be stupid to allow this.\
Of course, it would never happen.

[sirs]

Well that made absolutely zero sense.  Bravo on the contribution

[Xavier_Onassis]

It makes TOTALLY PERFECT sense to say that denying the vote to non-veterans would be the end of democracy. AS I recall, this was the law in Sparta, so it is not new.
Heinlein often included speculation of this sort of thing in hos books,and I doubt if he proposed it as something we should do. But Heinlein was a naval officer and he lived in a time of endless war, so the speculation is a valid one.

The question whether we should be an Athens or a Sparta was a common one in the `1950's Those who chose Sparta tended to send their sons off to military school, th "make a man of him" sooner than the eligible age for enlistment, Sort of like teaching your kid to read at home before the first grade, but for militarists.

[sirs]

ahhh, then you're catching on to the point both Plane & I were making.  Good progress

[Xavier_Onassis]

It is pretty easy to understand fools.  I often feign miscomprehension to elucidate more dumb statements from you, sirs.

[sirs]

And your ongoing, transparent attempts to use me as as crutch to your gross inability to grasp a point being made or refute a point being made is indeed noted for all to see & appreciated

[Xavier_Onassis]

See?

It works!

[sirs]

Indeed. .... thanks for the validation