The draft has been unpopular for quite a while. Most people don’t like the idea of being forced to fight in a war, and now US citizens have even more reason for dismay: top generals have been suggesting to expand the draft to include women.
This isn’t a shocking surprise, given the recent decisions to allow women in the military to serve in combat. Now that women are on equal footing, making only men register for the draft would be unfair. But the solution to this problem isn’t to make women register for the draft, according to Professor Ilya Somin—it’s to get rid of the draft altogether.
As he writes:
The generals’ desire to eliminate sex discrimination in this field is commendable. But the best way to do it is to abolish draft registration for men, rather than expanding it to include women. That approach would simultaneously eliminate one of the last vestiges of open sex discrimination in federal government policy and protect men and women alike against the danger of being subjected to forced labor by the state. Abolishing draft registration completely would thereby promote both liberty and equality. In addition, an all-volunteer military is likely to be both more effective and less wasteful one staffed by unwilling draftees. Eliminating draft registration would help protect the volunteer nature of the military by making it harder to reinstate the draft.“]
Well said. On the other hand, some peace-loving people advocate for the draft, arguing that those who might be drafted will be less likely to support future wars. What do you think? Should the draft be expanded, or eliminated altogether?