That old anti-warhorse former Senator George McGovern thinks we should.
Is an all-volunteer professional military democratic? Is it wise, especially for a democracy, to have a largely separate military caste to fight all of its wars? Would political leaders be quite so enthusiastic about military action, especially unilateral military action, if they knew that they would have to resort to the draft? Is it right to effectively outsource our military responsibilities to a very small portion of the population and expect them to bear all the costs? What is the responsibility of a larger society that benefits from military action toward those who must actually do that action? Is it right to expect that small professional military to do multiple tours of duty just to spare us the draft? Is it healthy for a democracy to augment troop numbers with "government contractors" i.e. mercenaries?
This goes to a fundamental question at the heart of the ideological warfare tearing apart this country: what are the responsibilities and duties of citizenship? Is being a citizen the same as being a "customer" or a "member?" There are those very ancient Greek concepts of citizenship where all citizens of the polis were responsible, individually and collectively, for the maintenance and defense of their city-state. Does any of that ancient understanding of citizenship have any relevance today? What are the obligations of citizens if we transition away from equality toward a more stratified shareholder state?
The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month
The Last Post at the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium
Armistice Day
EXTRA:
The economist Duncan Black reminds us to remember the dead from the First World War, and to remember all the rulers, military nobles, profiteers, politicians, and nationalist fanatics who blew up the world for no good reason. Today the United States looks more like the very stratified oligarchic Europe of 1914 than the USA of 1914. Perhaps we Yanks should remember The War To End All Wars that we've long forgotten and consigned to to barely understood and crumbling war memorials.
Armistice Day
EXTRA:
The economist Duncan Black reminds us to remember the dead from the First World War, and to remember all the rulers, military nobles, profiteers, politicians, and nationalist fanatics who blew up the world for no good reason. Today the United States looks more like the very stratified oligarchic Europe of 1914 than the USA of 1914. Perhaps we Yanks should remember The War To End All Wars that we've long forgotten and consigned to to barely understood and crumbling war memorials.
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