It’ll never come down to it is the point. An all volunteer army is so much more effective that America has, by far, the most powerful military but it’s not close to the largest. Very little, if anything, is actually gained by conscription if you have a functioning volunteer force of sufficient size. How is feeding, clothing, housing, training and equipping a ton of people who don’t want to be there logistically beneficial to a military? Short answer is that it’s not.

Countries only exist as far as their constituency believes in them. If they can’t drum up enough of an army to defend themselves voluntarily, then they obviously haven’t done enough for that constituency that they see a threat to the nation as a threat to themselves. You ever wonder why guerrillas rarely run out of fighters or supplies? They inspire the people. They do things for the people, instead of to them. They don’t use war as an excuse to strip rights or privatize public infrastructure, they don’t put you in prison for not wanting to fight. They fight for you, and in taking direct, tangible material actions that help the people, they ensure their continued usefulness to, and thus support by, the people.

Why anyone would fight for a modern nation state in any situation is beyond me.

Whats wrong with living in Somalia?