4 ms·

I think the argument extends to potential need to draft general population in times of need. You want to draft healthy people.

chii 7y ago
the argument doesn't work, because the assumption is that you have a large, but unhealthy population. But such a population is unable to sustain itself in the first place! If a country is doing fine (production wise), then there must be way more healthy, able-bodied people than sick people. The draft will just target those able-bodied people. And then there's the new style of war these days - drones, remote weapons and nukes. It either comes down to a small skirmish against brown people with little more than an AK47, or it's nuke time. i don't see war going any other direction.
- simonh 7y ago
  It’s not purely a practical argument, though it has a strong practical component, to me it’s also a moral one. We expect loyalty and patriotism from our people. If we owe loyalty to our country and each other, I believe that carries obligations. I’m no socialist, I’m a true believer in the individual freedoms and liberties at the heart of capitalism. Free enterprise is the most powerful force in human society, and it is generally a force for good. I suppose where I part ways with American style conservatives is my attitude to government. To me, in a democracy we are the government. It’s not an external force, it’s something we all carry responsibility for, and can be a vehicle through which we meet our mutual responsibilities, and to me that’s tied to my sense of patriotic duty. I know America has a much stronger sense of individualism and personal autonomy. I don’t want to malign that or trivialise it, there are good historical reasons for it. It’s just that over here in the UK we learned different historical lessons for different reasons.

4 ms·

I think the argument extends to potential need to draft general population in times of need. You want to draft healthy people.

by forkerenok 7y ago

chii 7y ago
the argument doesn't work, because the assumption is that you have a large, but unhealthy population. But such a population is unable to sustain itself in the first place! If a country is doing fine (production wise), then there must be way more healthy, able-bodied people than sick people. The draft will just target those able-bodied people. And then there's the new style of war these days - drones, remote weapons and nukes. It either comes down to a small skirmish against brown people with little more than an AK47, or it's nuke time. i don't see war going any other direction.
- simonh 7y ago
  It’s not purely a practical argument, though it has a strong practical component, to me it’s also a moral one. We expect loyalty and patriotism from our people. If we owe loyalty to our country and each other, I believe that carries obligations. I’m no socialist, I’m a true believer in the individual freedoms and liberties at the heart of capitalism. Free enterprise is the most powerful force in human society, and it is generally a force for good. I suppose where I part ways with American style conservatives is my attitude to government. To me, in a democracy we are the government. It’s not an external force, it’s something we all carry responsibility for, and can be a vehicle through which we meet our mutual responsibilities, and to me that’s tied to my sense of patriotic duty. I know America has a much stronger sense of individualism and personal autonomy. I don’t want to malign that or trivialise it, there are good historical reasons for it. It’s just that over here in the UK we learned different historical lessons for different reasons.