And at least Heinlein was good at world-building. In 2050, society has changed zilch. Throw in a weird cult of Elvis and a collective, and you have Clarke County. About the only thing that touches people's lives is the universal portable computer. Which they treat like cellular phones.
Language is static, too.
If Allen Steele does, he doesn't show it. But it's also each of us. Well, some of us are All- American Alien Girls, but you get the idea. Alien, yes, but also very capitalist and, well, American. Whether it's the shopping mall, the demolition derby, or Rock City, Steele takes something very American, and shows us how alien it is at the same time.