Who TF is for?
No one was born to fight a war.
IMO, it's always wrong.
At heart, I believe that the claimed authority by which governments draft people is illegitimate - that all nominal justifications for it are necessarily insufficient, self-contradictory or self-defeating.
But that's a more fundamental point, and one about governance as a whole.
Even if I pretend that such authority is legitimate, I still oppose conscription.
A volunteer army serves as a check on militaristic excess. If a war is both legitimate and necessary, then people will willingly fight it. If people will not willingly fight it, then it's almost certainly the case that it's not necessary or justified.
And if it is indeed the case that a war is necessary and justified and there's still insufficient support to provide for a volunteer army, then frankly, the nation is too sick to be worth saving anyway.
On the contrary, a volunteer army allows the ruling class to prosecute wars without risk to their own families. Volunteer armies are primarily recruited from poorer and disadvantaged families, and the "volunteers" are serving because they see no other option to support themselves.
If a war arrives that is necessary, justified, and also has broad support among the population there will still be those who avoid fighting because they know that others will do so for them. They will unjustly reap the benefits of victory without making any sacrifices.
You can make a similar argument about taxation. By your logic payment should be optional, since a society that genuinely wants to be just and fair should also voluntarily want to give money to achieve that.
On the contrary, a volunteer army allows the ruling class to prosecute wars without risk to their own families.
As does conscription, since there are always exceptions made for that explicit purpose.
So that works out the same either way.
If a war arrives that is necessary, justified, and also has broad support among the population there will still be those who avoid fighting because they know that others will do so for them.
Yes - there will always be such people. The issue is how many of them there would be.
I would say that a nation that's unhealthy enough to have so many such people that they would make the difference between winning and losing deserves to lose.
You can make a similar argument about taxation. By your logic payment should be optional, since a society that genuinely wants to be just and fair should also voluntarily want to give money to achieve that.
Yes, and I in fact would. And with the same proviso - any society that would fail as a result deserves to fail.
It's not ok because having the need for an army isn't something we should be ok with in the first place.
The need for an army will always exist no matter what you think is okay
How? If the world was at peace, why need an army? To keep evil at bay? Nuclear escalation anyone? No? I'm the only one who realizes that's ridiculous?
There will always be that one guy that ruins peace for everyone. We have had lots of times of peace but they all ended. All good things must come to an end
Only if The Nation I live in is so ideologically in synch with my own beliefs that I'd be willing to volunteer. In other words I'm fine with people being forced to fight for what I believe.
Absolutely against. Why should I risk my life / die for someone else's interest's.
Just pay people for the job instead.
I don't want to die for my country as I'm more valuable being alive, but on the other hand if no one does the bully will just take it.
I have the option to just leave as I'd get a job everywhere in the world, with the financial stability to go wherever. A lot of people don't have this option. I also have no kids required to protect.
I would however fight from a distance, or for a more targeted assassination mission to end the war.
It's different per person, but I haven't fought my whole life for a normal life, to now get my ass shot off. I've already PTSD from my abused childhood, I don't need another.
So yes it's required to have conscription, but I'd be the first to refuse. So what is my opinion worth?
I think mandatory military service is likely a good thing for a population (maybe not the individual). With a highly trained population, volunteering would likely increase and reduce the need for conscription during times of war.
The benefits of military service for young adults are numerous. Discipline, exercise, comeradity, professional exposure, etc. Could reduce some of the mental issues we see due to isolation through technology. Of course I'm taking in peace time.
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