Opinion: More on forced labor, er, ‘national service’
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Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, law professor Ilya Somin lays an eight-post smack-down on an issue near and dear to my 25-year-old heart -- forced or induced government labor of young citizens, otherwise known as its more politically appetizing title of ‘national service.’ In an Opinion Daily column last week, I wondered exactly what it is about we sub-30ers that inspires presidential candidates to call for our government servitude. Somin answers:
Why then the focus on the young? I suspect it is because they are politically weak. Research shows that 18-21 year olds are less likely to vote, less likely to engage in political activism, and have lower political knowledge levels than any other age group (see e.g. - this book). Obviously, they also have less money, make fewer campaign contributions, and are least likely to actually hold positions of power in government. The AARP would crucify any politician who had the temerity to suggest that the elderly be required to do forced labor. Unfortunately, the young lack that kind of power.
Somin also points out the obvious moral repugnance of national service:
It would still strike at the heart of the liberal idea that each person owns his or her own body, and cannot justly be compelled to work for others merely because it might be convenient to do so. Short of outright slavery or the murder of innocent people, it is hard to think of anything that violates individual liberty more clearly than forced labor. The rhetoric of ‘national service’ obscures the true nature of the idea, perhaps intentionally. It suggests that forced labor at the orders of the government (‘national service’) is somehow morally different from forced labor at the behest of other private individuals. But there is no intrinsic moral difference between the two. Yes, forced labor for the government might benefit the nation (though that result is by no means guaranteed). But so could forced labor for a private enterprise. Indeed, even outright slavery was regularly defended on the grounds that the labor of slaves produced valuable benefits to society as a whole.