Talk:The Weapon Shops of Isher

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[edit] SF

...[in relation to other libertarian-oriented SF, even beyond its literary merits....]

What may this mean, and am I alone in being offended by it??? --Dumarest 22:15, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

I hope you're alone. When I discovered this book in 1972 the only place I heard libertarianism being discussed was among science fiction fans and I always associated this book with them. A lot of science fiction is libertarian-oriented (can you say Robert A. Heinlein?). I don't know if Van Vogt explicitly intended this because I was so repulsed by his involvement in Scientology so I was always afraid to ask someone who might know, but the book has been associated with some libertarian thinkers for a very very long time. Jplatt39 14:45, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

That's a bit unfair. While van Vogt thought Dianetics was worthwhile as a technique and was involved with its secular promotion, he disapproved of Scientology strongly because of its fraudulently religious nature and never took any part in it. I get the impression that he was wrong about Dianetics but acted honourably and in good faith, something that could not truthfully be said about Hubbard.

As for Weapon Shops, I find it difficult to see why people whould think of it as "libertarian-oriented". It describes a social system consisting of a permanent monarchy/dictatorship existing in perpetual conflict/balance with an oligarchic opposition. Both sides are far from libertarian. In fact we discover as the book progresses that they are both the creation of one man, an immortal super-scientist who intervenes from time to time to ensure that neither side gains the upper hand. The slogan "The right to buy weapons is the right to be free" is the nearest thing to a libertarian idea in it. But if people think that the book is libertarian on that basis, they must be confusing the NRA with the Libertarian Party, an easy mistake to make given the overlap in membership but a mistake nonetheless. -- Derek Ross | Talk 03:08, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

If you want a van Vogt book that describes a superior libertarian/anarchist society, you'd be better advised to read The World of Null-A which describes such a society on Venus. However van Vogt makes it clear in that book that the Venusians owe their free society not to "the right to bear arms" but rather to the superior education and rationality which follows from their use of General Semantics. -- Derek Ross | Talk 04:30, 4 October 2006 (UTC)