4 ms·

Many of the people go into the army to get a college education because their parents or they can't afford it compared with perhaps most of the readers of HN w

• ck2 15y ago
  It's pretty horrible to make someone decide they need to go to war to pay for their education. How about giving the well-off the same risk by enacting the draft for all college students when we decide to go to war? Bet we wouldn't be in another war this century.
  • rexreed 15y ago
    Guess again - war is a huge business. And it's very complicated. You'd be surprised how much of the US economy is derived from waging and supporting war. If you were to take that away, the cost would be surprising economic depression and joblessness. Way too many businesses are in the direct or indirect business of supporting war-faring. And that's terribly unfortunate, but a reality. Forcing the draft won't do anything to stop war making. You'd have to remove the economic incentive, and that's too painful for anyone to do. Indeed, a Senator would probably sacrifice their own son if it meant keeping the coffers filled. Perhaps that's worth the cost, but at this point, I would hesitate to say that it is a Complex Problem, which would necessitate a Complex Solution. Intractable, maybe?