Too narrow a philosophy to fit the broad reaches of space

I have heard Robert Heinlein referenced numerous times over the years but have never read anything by him. Last summer I purchased an armful of secondhand copies of his books but they were unsuccessful vying with other books that needed to be read.

One of the titles was Double Star which I have just finished. Interesting. I enjoyed it. It reminds me to a small degree of John Wyndham (of Day of the Triffids fame). I don't recall who said it but it was something along the lines of nothing dates so quickly as the past's imagination of the future. There is a bit of that here.

However, a fast paced read, enjoyable, entirely appropriate for children - all good attributes. A couple of quotes:

I decided that the notion could be generalized into any occupation. "Value for value." Building "on the square and on the level." The Hippocratic oath. Don't let the team down. Honest work for honest pay. Such things did not have to be proved; they were an essential part of life-true throughout eternity, true in the farthest reaches of the Galaxy.

I suddenly got a glimpse of what Bonforte was driving at. If there were ethical basics that transcended time and place, then they were true both for Martians and for men. They were true on any planet around any star—and if the human race did not behave accordingly they weren’t ever going to win to the stars because some better race would slap them down for double-dealing.

The price of expansion was virtue. "Never give a sucker an even break" was too narrow a philosophy to fit the broad reaches of space.

and another:

Take sides! Always take sides! You will sometimes be wrong — but the man who refuses to take sides must always be wrong. Heaven save us from poltroons who fear to make a choice. Let us stand up and be counted.

And

People don’t really want change, any change at all — and xenophobia is very deep-rooted. But we progress, as we must — if we are to go out to the stars.