GLORY ROAD - Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein, a Missouri native, graduate of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, and Navy veteran is well known among fiction and particularly science fiction fans for the many books he has written. He is a 'classic' science fiction author of many superb novels.
One of his classic novels, Glory Road, was published initially in 1963 and has been reprinted numerous times since then. In this novel one of the characters, Rufo, discusses democracy and a democratic form of government in such a way that as I was considering our own democratic form of government in the United States, a Republic, I was moved to find the it's source. I first read this sci-fi novel over 30 years ago and in the last year, while looking through a stack of used books it came back into my hands.
Rufo, a major character in this book, explains about democracy:
“Except that he sees only the surface. Democracy can't work. Mathematicians, peasants, and animals, that's all there is—so democracy, a theory based on the assumption that mathematicians and peasants are equal, can never work. Wisdom is not additive; its maximum is that of the wisest man in a given group.”
He continues:
“But a democratic form of government is okay, as long as it doesn't work. Any social organization does well enough if it isn't rigid. The framework doesn't matter as long a there is enough looseness to permit that one man in a multitude to display his genius. Most so-called social scientists seem to think that organization is everything. It is almost nothing---except when it is a straitjacket. It is the incidence of heroes that counts, not the pattern of zeros.”
He added, “Your country has a system free enough to let its heroes work at their trade. It should last a long time—unless its looseness is destroyed from the inside.”
I read this and then had to re-read it again because it was in my opinion at that time a profound way of describing our own nation. What is more timely, is that it was written in 1963 before the 'revolution' that swept the USA in the late 60's, and the basic premise of what he wrote nearly 46 years ago is still very applicable today.
This is a great book that follows the journey of a man from Earth on a heroic quest. I wholeheartedly recommend you read it.
The version I read most recently:
One of his classic novels, Glory Road, was published initially in 1963 and has been reprinted numerous times since then. In this novel one of the characters, Rufo, discusses democracy and a democratic form of government in such a way that as I was considering our own democratic form of government in the United States, a Republic, I was moved to find the it's source. I first read this sci-fi novel over 30 years ago and in the last year, while looking through a stack of used books it came back into my hands.
Rufo, a major character in this book, explains about democracy:“Except that he sees only the surface. Democracy can't work. Mathematicians, peasants, and animals, that's all there is—so democracy, a theory based on the assumption that mathematicians and peasants are equal, can never work. Wisdom is not additive; its maximum is that of the wisest man in a given group.”
He continues:“But a democratic form of government is okay, as long as it doesn't work. Any social organization does well enough if it isn't rigid. The framework doesn't matter as long a there is enough looseness to permit that one man in a multitude to display his genius. Most so-called social scientists seem to think that organization is everything. It is almost nothing---except when it is a straitjacket. It is the incidence of heroes that counts, not the pattern of zeros.”
He added, “Your country has a system free enough to let its heroes work at their trade. It should last a long time—unless its looseness is destroyed from the inside.”
I read this and then had to re-read it again because it was in my opinion at that time a profound way of describing our own nation. What is more timely, is that it was written in 1963 before the 'revolution' that swept the USA in the late 60's, and the basic premise of what he wrote nearly 46 years ago is still very applicable today.
This is a great book that follows the journey of a man from Earth on a heroic quest. I wholeheartedly recommend you read it.
The version I read most recently:
Heinlein, Robert A. Glory Road. Berkley Medallion Books, New York, Berkley Medallion Edition - 11th Printing, March 1970. Originally copyrighted in 1963.
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