According to the Economist,
THIS month Germany suspended military conscription and its civilian counterpart, community service. After 50 years and the service of 8.4m young men, Germany is set to shrink the Bundeswehr from 220,000 to a maximum of 185,000 troops. But conscription still remains part of the constitution and available in the case of an emergency. Similarly in America, while "the draft" ended in 1973, laws require men to register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of their 18th birthday. This provides a deep pool of manpower in the event of a national emergency. Where compulsory military service is enforced in Europe it ranges from 260 days (in Switzerland), to 26 months (in Cyprus). As the map below shows, conscription is most popular in Asia and Africa.
Here’s the Libertarian take on military conscription. The following quotes with bold emphasis mine:
From Professor Bryan Caplan
Slavery is involuntary servitude; conscription is involuntary military servitude; therefore not only is conscription slavery; it's a particularly heinous form of slavery that often ends in maiming and death.
From Congressman Ron Paul
Ronald Reagan said it best: "The most fundamental objection to draft registration is moral." He understood that conscription assumes our nation's young people belong to the state. Yet America was founded on the opposite principle, that the state exists to serve the individual. The notion of involuntary servitude, in whatever form, is simply incompatible with a free society.
In short, military conscription is a conventional form of slavery. Perhaps Germany’s move could set the trend for more individual liberation and freedom worldwide.
