Is it contradictory...

[EN[i]GMA]

...to support taxation while opposing conscription?

I know at first this sounds strange, as they seem to be unrelated, but think about it.

Either way, the government is taking time away from, only through conscription its direct. THrough taxation, they make you work for an amount of time to pay them.

Either way you're using your time and effort to aid society.

Why is it OK to support one but not OK to support the other?

I mean, I support the existence of taxation; you have to, if you think a government should exist.

But I also oppose conscription. But I can't think of a reason why I can oppose one but not the other; they are essentially the same, it seems to me.

[Bob]

I don't see why it needs to be the case that you either support the government taking away your time and effort in any and all cases or that you don't support any such takings...there are degrees of how much the government might demand from you and I don't really follow how accepting one means you HAVE to accept all of them to be consistent.

If you live in a society, it's not unreasonable to be expected to give a little every now and then in order to earn some of the benefits of society. But there are certainly unreasonable amounts that you can be asked to give. Towards the reasonable spectrum you have things like taxes and jury duty, on the other end you have being asked to kill, or maybe slavery

They're not really the same thing any more than a volkswagen and a bus are.

[D_Raay]

Conscription in it's general form was only really practiced by feudal societies wasn't it?

Corvee' labour I believe?

[Pres Zount]

At the moment I support taxes and am against conscription. Whilst taxes are used for many things, including things I am for and against, conscription really only has one purpose - which I am against.


If society was organised differently, I would be fully behind conscription and there would be no need for taxes.

i'm open to ideas though.

[D_Raay]

If society was organised differently, I would be fully behind conscription and there would be no need for taxes.

i'm open to ideas though.
That's a slippery slope there...

[EN[i]GMA]

Conscription in it's general form was only really practiced by feudal societies wasn't it?

Corvee' labour I believe?

Some people have propose (I believe) mandatory service or something like that.

Some others have proposed mandatory military service. I believe Israel has this.

[Bob]

i know germany has a form of it. you have to spend a period of time in the army (i don't know exactly what you're expected to do though), or a longer period of time doing some kind of civil service (again, i forget the details).

[D_Raay]

GMA']Some people have propose (I believe) mandatory service or something like that.

Some others have proposed mandatory military service. I believe Israel has this.
In feudal societies I believe people were required to spend time building various structures or labouring for monarchs and royalty.

Military conscription is currently practiced by over 20 countries worldwide.