this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2025
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[–] dick_fineman@discuss.online -2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (15 children)

Heinlein gets shit on for this, but his "citizenship through service" idea always made sense to me. Yeah you have rights, can work a regular job, and have all the benefits we traditionally associate with "citizenship" by simply being a legal resident...but if you want to vote or hold office, you need to spend a few years contributing. Maybe that's military service, or maybe that's working as a teacher in a low-income area. Regardless, voting is a privilege that SHOULD be earned by contributing to the society you want to impact FIRST.

[–] syreus@lemmy.world 24 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Yeah. That just ends in the poor not having the ability to vote because they can't make time for that contribution.

Reminder that when you pay money toward the government in taxes you are working to support it in proxy.

[–] dick_fineman@discuss.online 1 points 1 week ago (3 children)

The way I imagined it, you would get a wage for your service and service would be customizable to account for any disability, including severe intellectual-disability.

[–] 5too@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Iirc, in the book, the point was that it was hazardous service - there was a real risk of loss of life or limb, which they underlined at every opportunity (remember the recruiter's obviously prosthetic hand? He had one that blended in much better!) Otherwise, like dick_fineman said, customized to your abilities and you're provided for. The idea was to filter out the self-serving sort.

But yeah, the problem becomes who gets to assign which duty - it becomes very easy to assign some people more hazardous positions depending on how "correct" their thinking is. Or more subtle things, like cultural fit, or education level.

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