The idea that government has the right to compel young people to devote one, two or more years of their lives to the service of the state is still with us, stalking the Earth like a zombie in search of brains.
This time, though, the great need for universal national service is a shortage of…government workers. Jay Caspian Kang writes in The New York Times that this is one of many excellent reasons to launch a massive government program of compulsory service:
What’s needed is a real test run for universal national service; one that’s championed by the government and not just an assortment of nonprofits like, say, Teach for America. Mega AmeriCorps could be just that. A new fleet of workers, mostly between the ages of 18 and 25, could be placed in cities, towns, and rural areas with civic labor shortages. They should be provided housing, a livable salary, and a job training infrastructure that will not only prepare them to do their work, but also set them up for a career in whatever civic organization they enter.
The key for success would be a slow, but ultimately forceful normalization of joining up with Mega AmeriCorps after high school, which would have the added effect of lessening the pressure that many kids feel to compete and excel in their academic pursuits. Access to higher education plays far too large a role in nearly every facet of American life, from what salary you earn to what side of the political divide you fall. This would be a conscious effort to reduce the importance of a postsecondary education by creating a bridge between high school and a career that could allow you to circumvent the need to go to college at all. Much of the money that goes to Mega AmeriCorps would be spent on training and apprenticeship programs to get young people credentialed and prepared for a career.
There’s much more in the same vein, but it all leads to the same end: the state would have a standing claim on young people’s lives. Got plans of your own? Too bad – Uncle Sam needs you to go shuffle papers in a cubicle for a couple of years (and you’d better do it, or else).
This fetish with dragooning people into state service – all to help others, of course – is as lamentable as it is laughable. But there’s also a serious case to be made against it, and for that, let’s turn to the late Milton Friedman…who was a driving force behind ending the military draft. On the topic of compulsory national service Friedman said:
If you look at the record in the United States, the first extensive treatment of universal national service was by Edward Bellamy in 1888, in his book Looking Backward, which is a socialist Utopian novel. Ever since, universal national service has been supported primarily by modern liberals, by people who believe in a collective society. It has tended to be opposed by people like myself who believe in a free society, who believe that individuals should separately be free to choose their activities in accordance with their values, and that if some of us want to hire others of them to do certain jobs for us, we have to pay them what it takes to get them to do it for us and not impose it on them by force directly or indirectly.
My general conclusion is that universal national service would be a monstrosity. If adopted, it would undermine the basic foundations of this free society, and it is something that we should avoid like a plague.
There’s much more at the link, and it’s worth your time to read in full…not just to understand why national service is such a bad idea, but why the idea continues to thrive among those who value state power over individual freedom.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Volunteer because U can serve NOT for the state
The underlying rationale; “The Bureaucrats populating the vast hallways of the State, are infallible in their grasp of how best to force the general population to do the bidding, the whims, and the aims of the State Almighty.
The Volunteer Force of young indoctrination novitiates will learn the skills of monitoring, exhorting, encouraging, enforcement. In the fullness of time, they will comprehend the occasional necessity of culling the herd… for the betterment of All.”
Who could question that?
or…
Who would dare?
Well, the statement”lessening the pressure that many kids feel to compete and excel in their academic pursuits” fits perfectly with the current AmeriCorps culture.
Help kids in inner city schools, by reading comic books to them.
Put masses of “universal service workers” in inner cities? There would be a massive turn over as workers flee the gang violence and general lawlessness, unless they decided to go along to get along.
This is a bad idea! Kids need to be able to decide their futures, NOT the government! The government does NOT own us!
Isn’t there something written somewhere (idk) about involuntary servitude?
i got drafted into the US military in 1969 i didn’t want to be drafted, the notion of military service in a swamp 12000 miles from home was truly frightening but i got drafted. There’s much to be gained both individually and by our culture to have a large portion of our population that has given one or two years to public service programs or the military. So much, in my opinion and experience, that i would not trade the moment or my service to my Country for any amount of do over again.
Considering how many jobs are out there, unfilled, because the government decided to pay people more to sit home than to actually earn a living ,this is one of the stupidest ideas to come down the ‘pike in a very long time.
And to suggest that training young adults (18-25) to do a specific government job (that translates to: be a paper pusher or a worker drone) instead of learning a REAL trade or skill, sounds like the foundation for “Agenda 2030” or something equally dystopian.
The USA is a Democratic Republic, NOT a hive or a Socialistic Democracy ur a Commune. The Progressives need to realize that and what that truly means.