Compulsory Military Draft

Many modern countries such as Russia, have compulsory military service also known as conscription or “the draft”. Countries such as the United States which currently have volunteer armies used to have conscription. The argument upon whether or not military service should be a requirement is quite heated. In fact, recently there was a notion to revive the draft in the United States which was shot down by the economists. This argument involves many factors including, ethics, costs, effectivity and individual liberty. I believe that compulsory military service is an unnecessary and unethical practice which goes against an individual’s rights. The reason for this is because not only is it immoral to force someone to work on your behalf, but it is actually expensive as well. Russia’s ministry of defence states “The key elements of motivation in the military service include duty, honour and service in the interests of homeland” however, is it really a

Battlefield morale is very important. An army with high morale is more likely to be victorious than one with low morale because it will fight harder. While there are factors to consider such as munition, size and maneuverability, no-one will deny the importance of battlefield morale. The effect of adding possibly thousands of soldiers forcibly would have a greatly detrimental effect upon the morale of the troops. In addition to this since these troops would be fighting amongst volunteer soldiers, they could potentially threaten the lives of other soldiers as well. Soldiers who fight out of respect and duty to their country as opposed to being forced are more effective. Perhaps the greatest example of this is the ancient spartans at the battle of Thermopylae where the spartans held off the Persian forces of Xerxes. They were immortalized as the free men who sacrificed their lives for the lives of their families and for their