[PW] Science fiction/politics question

[Dan Goodman]

Becky none wrote:
> Hello - I am a lurker on this list, but I always appreciate the
> genius. I told the folks in the Arthur C Clark discussion that I know
> some geniuses who can probably answer this question easily, so I will
> be giving props when it is answered. Here's the original "question"-
> in a discussion about the politics of writers - and keep in mind that
> this is from a discussion on a liberal political blog:
> 
> "Some wingnuts write SF
> 
> Heinlein, Anderson, Pournelle, and Creighton [correction:  Chrichton] are the most conspicuous.
>  There was actually a rather fantastic matrix I'd seen about 25 years
> ago where they graphed the most right-wing and left-wing writers.
> I've got the magazine somewhere in my stash, but the chances of
> finding it are slim."

This is more complex than any chart or simple summary would show.

Robert A. Heinlein was left of liberalism when he began writing sf, and 
moved right.  However, while he was conservative on foreign policy and 
_some_ social issues, up till the end he was left of liberalism on 
social issues concerning sex and (with some complications) gender.

Similarly with Poul Anderson.

Jerry Pournelle made his transition from left of liberalism to 
conservative before he began selling sf, and is generally a consistent 
conservative -- I think.

Change in views over time is one complication.  Another is that 
conservatism/liberalism is only part of the spectrum.

> and when I asked for the parameters to be narrowed, here's the response:
> 
> "Okay... Could have been an Analog, could have been an FSF or Locus.
> Would have been about 1980 give or take a few years.  They used a
> reference one-dimentional graph similar to the modern two-dimentional
> libertarian-authoritarian / right-left graph.  I wasn't really that
> huge on politics when I was in my late teens (except I knew that
> Republican presidents generally sucked, and that hasn't changed since
> then) but I did find it funny that the most liberal on the chart was
> Harlan Ellison, my favorite writer.
> 
> I was far heavier into the scene when we did have spaceships flying to
> the planets, and it looked like we'd have a brighter tomorrow.  SF has
> changed a bit since then, and it is now merging into other less
> interesting fields.  Give me hard SF, or new wave, or cyberpunk over
> these odd genres!"
> 
> So - can y'all work a miracle and find this? Has anyone done a graph
> like the one described more recently? Like I said, major props will be
> given. Thanks in advance!
> 


-- 
Dan Goodman
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Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Expire
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