Conscription: A Philosophical Analysis

摘要

The thesis is an attempt to answer the question which asks: What is the rational moral justification for conscription in the modern democratic state. Chapter One sketches the philosophical roots of the traditional conception of conscription in America which holds that military service is an obligation or duty of the citizen. Chapter Two examines five major arguments which purport to establish the moral ground of a citizens obligation to support and comply with his government. Each argument is rejected in turn, thereby rejecting the view that citizens have any moral obligation to support their own government, and hence no obligation to serve in the military. Chapter Three examines the possibility that the state may be morally justified in conscripting, nonetheless. An argument is presented which establishes that in situations of clear national emergency or peril, the state is justified in conscripting its citizens for military service, thereby establishing some rational moral justification for conscription in the modern democratic state. (Author)