system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
I believe that conscription is inhumane and a waste of time. CMV.

I feel that it is inhumane because it's tantamount to slavery. 2 years of a youth's life at his prime (18) are taken away against his will, and leaving him with no choice but to enter the military service or risk facing an outrageous fine and jail time. There is no recourse for one who is a conscientious objector or one who wants to contribute in other ways to the country. There are 2 articles in the UN's Declaration of Human Rights that I feel are relevant to conscription.
    
Article 4.
>     
> No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.


Article 20.
> 
> (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

> **(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.**

If these rights are enshrined in the UDHR, why isn't conscription outlawed? Granted, it isn't a model for everyone to follow but why isn't there a global movement to outlaw conscription?

Furthemore, it's a waste of time because those 2 years could have spent to further one's studies and the academic inertia could prove to be hard to overcome. It also places those individuals 2 years behind everyone else.
gpt
**The short answer:**

Because a great amount of the world is filled with people who want to kill their neighbors and take their resources.

**The long answer:**

Most western countries have at best something called "Selective Services" or something similar to it, which is in short "The draft". This is usually only used in times of emergencies. But the real point to having such a large pool of people you can draw upon is simply due to the fact that even with extreme technological superiority, frequently you need a lot of boots to fill to make sure that the machines of war run smoothly.

The USA has a MASSIVE volunteer army. We at best only need selective services in the worst of dire situations. We managed to survive two wars simultaneously without needing to draft. This is a testament to our reserves.

But lets take Israel for example:

They have a lot of enemies, a fairly small population in comparison, and a strong interest in protecting their sovereignty. Pair with the idea of low volunteer rates, they need to swell their numbers in other ways. By having a strong military, you deter a lot of potential threats. Even if ideally the most effective armies are strictly volunteer (psychology of wanting to fight vs compelled to).

**Why your arguments are invalid**

> (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

You are a citizen of a country, and took the benefits of said citizenship. You are already associated to them by some extent. You are obligated to protect these benefits that you drew from the country by protecting the country that provides said benefits to other citizens. Otherwise we have a "Free Rider Problem".

> If these rights are enshrined in the UDHR, why isn't conscription outlawed? Granted, it isn't a model for everyone to follow but why isn't there a global movement to outlaw conscription?

Because this would leave some countries utterly defenseless in the worst of international situations. We have the luxury of not needing to think about pounding our chest, but some parts of the world the only way to send a message is to pound your chest. Because it is convenient for some countries to use volunteer armies, it is more convenient to have a back up plan for some countries, where as the only plan of action a nation has at times is to have every abled body man having the know how to fight.

> Furthemore, it's a waste of time because those 2 years could have spent to further one's studies and the academic inertia could prove to be hard to overcome. It also places those individuals 2 years behind everyone else.

People are paid for their time served in a conscripted force. Not to mention that military service offers something that academia can never offer: Discipline. When you think of western university students, a lot of people don't think too highly of them. We have cultivated a culture of worthless academics. Yet military is still praised as a great source to get your head on straight.

Not to mention that not everybody needs college or university to succeed in life. And some people just don't care for education. Some might even argue that military service does more good for the individual, and for society as a whole, than just streamlining a route into university.

> There is no recourse for one who is a conscientious objector or one who wants to contribute in other ways to the country.

Are you going to object once your family, friends, neighbors, loved ones are dead? There is a reason that there is a massive stigma against conscientious objectors as being simply cowards. A common belief is that they simply fear for their own lives, and don't understands one of the most important values for the continuity of their people: Sacrifice.

That is all what conscription and selective services is: Being able and ready to sacrifice yourself for a greater purpose, namely to protect those that you love and society as a whole.