Sorry for not responding to the comments below sooner; we went on a spontaneous (like 90 minute decision cycle spontaneous) weekend trip to the mountains with All Three Boys and Tenacious G. Much fun was had, I realized that I may or may not have succeeded in civilizing my sons, and we just got back late tonight.
Ill present a more thoughtful response soon.
But a quick question for all the folks who Ive pissed off
we all perform involuntary servitude for three or four months a year. We get a bundle of benefits for it. No one seems to be complaining about that…
We have, in order to meet crucial national goals, drafted young men and enforced draconian labor and consumption laws. It is questionable to me whether we would be here to have this discussion had we not.
So, to paraphrase Shaw, its a matter of price.
Its often as amusing to me how many of my libertarian/anarchist friends have federally-insured home mortgages, and went to state universities, as it is how upset my Proudhon-spouting radical friends are when their stuff gets stolen or my socialist friends are when they run afoul of the zoning laws.
Our relationships with the state are and have been very complex here in America. Theyre gonna get more so.
2 thoughts on “APOLOGIES, AGAIN”
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>we all perform involuntary servitude for three or four months a year. We get a bundle of benefits for it. No one seems to be complaining about that…
Count me as a complainer! By the way, you underestimate the amount of time we taxpayers spend working for the state – tax freedom day generally comes in May. I personally send almost exactly half of my income to the state in one form or another, in return for “benefits” that are largely (a) burdens (the regulatory state); (c) nonexistent (the gross inefficiency of the state); or (d) unasked for (I will provide for my own retirement, thank you).
That said, there is a difference in kind between being drafted and paying taxes, and the former is far more intrusive than the latter.
Just saying we have a complex relationship with the state, while often used to “discredit” libertarianism, actually does no such thing – it begs the question of what that relationship should be, which is a fundamental question that only the libertarians are seriously addressing these days. When was the last time you heard a Dem or a Repub seriously address the issues on which this country was founded? Even the sacrosanct First Amendment is now a doormat for our elected officials in their stampede for incumbent protection, excuse me, campaign finance reform.
The work to be performed by the draftees to public service can only be lower level stuff.
For example, cops and firemen want to be cops and firemen. They undergo extensive training where washing out–or quitting–are always possible. During their service they can quit.
The military use of draftees presumes constant supervision–squad and fireteam leaders–and the threat of harsh discipline, and the shortest time draftees have been on active duty is two years. Shorter than that and training them is wasted.
The shorter the time the civil workers drafted to public service actually serve, the less valuable will be their service.
Eventually, it will be a liberal’s dream; A mandatory program not including them which costs money, accomplishes nothing, and is aimed at changing other people’s attitudes.