Many countries like Austria and Israel have mandatory military service. Friends of mine, from these countries, who partook all reported that it was an overwhelmingly positive experience.
They got to step outside their comfort zones, maybe learned some practical skills but most importantly, were granted an experience by which they can connect to all their fellow compatriots. Almost like a rite of passage into citizenship.
Even when it sucked, most would tell you that they wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
In a time of growing socio-economic tensions, when we find ourselves more divided than ever, politicians will talk a big game and attempt to put a bandaid on the problem with empty promises and moral posturing.
To truly promote tolerance and build unity, a much more drastic but practical solution is required. And I believe conscription would be a good start.
It’s unlikely, however, that Canada would ever mandate this. Too many people with (perhaps justifiable) anti-war sentiments. It would never pass.
Though, I believe this stance to be rather counterintuitive.
When everyone is forced to share the burden in wartime it incentivizes a call to action, forcing us to feel the weight and the human cost associated. For this reason, I believe anyone with a fervent anti-war agenda should also favour the draft.
However, it is also important to note that in the last forty-years war has changed. Advancements in military intelligence, use of drones and general shift towards non-violent trade wars has drastically undermined the need for military manpower. Changes in structure to the world economy and the globalization of trade has also greatly decreased overall incentives to go to war.
A trend that I hope will last.
In light of this, I’d like to, instead, propose an alternative to military conscription that may yield even more practical results.
A Mandatory, Two-Summer, Work-Experience Program
My alternative would, by design, focus less on technical training but rather on developing character and a sense of national unity. Something I believe to be highly neglected in our current school curriculum.
It won’t matter where you came from, everyone will have had the shared experience of being forced to participate.
Even if you end up in a field, like computer programming, where your need to interact with others is fairly limited and you never put to use anything you learned during these two summers, you’ll still forever be a part of that collective experience that all Canadians went through.
I’d contend that this mandate would do more to strengthen national unity than any superficial government motions or moral lecturing could ever hope to achieve.
In some places, Ontario for instance, you’re required to complete forty-hours of volunteer work to graduate. This is all fine and well but is ultimately too light in effort required to have any meaningful impact.
I want you to work real jobs and get paid for it.
With volunteering, by definition, you are working for free, no one has to pay you for your labour and so a lot of students get away with half-heartedly going through the motions while they bank the hours.
In reality, we live in a capitalist society and whether you like it or not, the work you do must be of a standard that is valuable enough to your employer that they deem it worthwhile to keep paying you. Otherwise they will let you go.
In the real world no one owes you anything.
You’ll be held to the same standards as normal employees and paid the same as normal employees. You’ll find out very quickly where a haughty attitude gets you.
There could perhaps be some leeway regarding the period over which your work may be completed, however, I have designed it so that it can be done over the course of two summers, so as not to interfere too much with your education.
Israel has successfully instituted a two year service minimum, so I think two summers is quite a conservative timeframe.
# 1. A Mandatory Summer working in Customer service (equivalent to 320 hours):
This could vary from food service, waiting tables, retail or help desks. Anything where you find yourself dealing directly with customers.
Experience being on the other side. You’ll learn what it’s like to deal with people from a subordinate position. You’ll learn to empathize with people who do it for a living.
Let’s be frank, people can be jerks. Oftentimes this isn’t intentional but it can be very easy to lose sight of the fact that you’re dealing with another human being if you haven’t been in that same position yourself.
In the process, you’ll also build confidence in your ability to communicate with people, learn sales skills and overcome your shyness.
It won’t matter whether you’re the son of a deadbeat dad or a successful lawyer. You’ll all have had the same shared, maybe crummy experience, of having been forced to work in customer service for a summer.
# 2. A Mandatory Summer Working in Manual Labour (equivalent to 320 hours):
There is a stigma around blue-collar work which I believe to be highly unfair. A lot of these jobs pay extremely well and are vital for our economy. Where would we be without the farmers who grow our food or the people who build our roads and infrastructure?
I know many highly-intelligent people who choose to do these jobs simply because they prefer to work with their hands. Some people just aren’t suited to being bureaucrats.
At the very least, this way, you’ll be able to try it and find out for yourself.
Coinciding with growing levels of physical inactivity amongst our youth, I firmly believe that much of our angst, apathy and existential dread comes from a surplus of comfort and too much free time.
Learn to do real work and literally sweat for your dollar. I think you’ll find that after a day of hard labour, a lot of your worries about the meaning of life and crises of identity will have amounted to little more than petty quibbling. You’ll cultivate an appreciation for the things you have and you’ll enjoy your leisure all the more.
Try telling me that my saturday night off, eating pizza and watching movies with friends is “meaningless” after a week spent stacking cash, working in the hot sun.
Whether you work in landscaping, farmwork, construction or a lumber yard; it doesn’t matter. You’ll learn that your body isn’t made of glass and that getting dirty won’t kill you. You’ll find out that you have it in you to make a living the way that your ancestors did.
This can only build your confidence.
Note: I am drawing mostly from second-hand experience here. Regrettably, I have never worked in manual labour, in a strict sense. Consequently, I still don’t like being dirty and I don’t like getting sweaty beyond the controlled parameters of my gym.
In squabbles of manly one-upmanship, I might boast about having 17-inch biceps or being able to bench over 300lbs but If someone tells me I have “soft hands”, all I can do is bow my head and admit defeat.
The real reason we should do this: Skin in the game
Some parents will inevitably protest. They would rather their children not work in labour jobs which may be dangerous. The reality, however, is that someone needs to do these jobs and a certain amount of risk is unavoidable in life.
This also inadvertently draws light on the much more serious issue of avoidable risk and the problems related to workplace safety standards and labour laws.
Like during war times, I firmly believe that If the people with money and power are forced to share the burden and know that their children will also have to work these jobs they will be strongly incentivized to improve the legislation.
Note that I am saying this as someone who is generally skeptical of government intervention in matters of business: Fiscal policy and regulation has a tendency to benefit lobbyists and lawmakers, not the people it claims to protect. I believe that when in doubt, a laissez-faire approach is better than bad regulation.
Ultimately, politicians are ruled by money and money is amoral. With this in mind, I can’t possibly think of a better, no appeals to moralism, practical way of assuring lawmakers act in the interest of the people than this.
As Nassim Taleb would say, there is no substitute for (in this case, literal) skin in the game.
Either way it’s a win.
Economic Feasibility:
A certain amount of market disruption can be expected but nothing that couldn’t be managed and adapted to. These types of jobs are always in demand and the majority of people ages 18-20 find themselves doing this type of work anyway.
Spurring productivity in youth who otherwise wouldn’t be working will only boost GDP.
Any labour surplus this policy creates could likely be rectified through stimulus and new subsidies for these types of businesses. The cost of which would pale when compared to that of paying new military recruits with public money every year.
New and creative service industries would come up, as a result, spurring an influx of tourism and foreign direct investment.
Online databases would be created, listing all the available jobs for you to meet the requirements. Thus, new jobs would be created, helping both you and employers all while lowering overall unemployment
It’s important to note that historically, well-funded public education up to high school, not post-secondary, has been found to yield the best economic returns. We should be investing in the skills necessary for citizens to become effective members of the workforce not in producing armchair intellectuals and bureaucrats.
Remember that this is for the common good.
You’ll have plenty of time later on to pursue your career-relevant internships in the public sector or a nonprofit, where you can make money being useless.
In conclusion
The legal ramifications of failing to comply with this mandate would need to be strict. Of course, there would be exemptions made for those with certain disabilities but stringent measures would need to be put into place so that the wealthy and well connected won’t just be able to buy their way out or sleep through a summer “working” at their dad’s factory.
Only time could tell how this mandate would ultimately affect the economy, but I’d remind you that the main objective was never an economic one.
Rather, the goal remains to help bridge the social gap between the rich and poor, the powerful and the vulnerable; to incentivize responsible legislation and to foster the general notion that we are all in this together.
