The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that overcrowding leads to societal issues, and space travel offers an escape to avoid these problems.
Robert A. Heinlein highlights the relationship between societal overcrowding and the potential for social collapse. He expresses a concern for the detrimental effects of human congestion and advocates for exploration beyond our planet as a means to alleviate such pressures and find new opportunities for humanity.
Themes
CrowdingSocietySpace TravelExplorationCollapse
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a discussion on urban overpopulation and its implications.
More from Robert A. Heinlein
All quotes →An armed society is a polite society.
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Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried.
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Long human words (the longer the better) were easy, unmistakable, and rarely changed their meanings . . . but short words were slippery, unpredictable, changing their meanings without any pattern.
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Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.
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A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.
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