[nickff]

If you can't convince others to defend your country through rhetoric and compensation, perhaps the country isn't worth defending; your comment implicitly assumes every state is worth sacrificing young lives for.

[mgkimsal]

> your comment implicitly assumes every state is worth sacrificing young lives for.

no, it assumes those in control of the state believe it is worth sacrificing young lives for.

[nickff]

Apologies if I misread your comment, but I read the following quote to imply that coercion was acceptable once the volunteer army was not enough:

>It's fine to have a volunteer force, until we need more. Then force is brought in.

[mgkimsal]

I don't believe it is acceptable, but the people in power probably (often?) do believe that it's acceptable, generally because it's not their own lives at risk.