Comment by pdonis | Hacker News Reader

Comment by pdonis | Hacker News Reader

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> They accept that duty though, so it's the same thing - instead of "is it ok for a soldier to go to war" it's "is it ok to become a soldier".

But if it's not ok to become a soldier if you have kids, that severely limits who can be a soldier. (For example, many soldiers get married and start families during their careers as soldiers. Should they instantly get discharged if that happens? Taken off all possibly dangerous duties?) That doesn't seem like a good idea for society as a whole, since it makes being a soldier a much less attractive career, and any society needs soldiers to defend it.

The argument with cave diving is at least somewhat stronger, since I don't see any pressing need for society as a whole to have a particular number of cave divers, or for cave diving to be an attractive career.

> that severely limits who can be a soldier

But that's an economic problem, isn't it? Maybe if children stopped working, we couldn't make enough matches? But unless we recognise the morally undesirable, why would we care to change anything?

You can recognise something as morally undesirable, yet for some other reason unavoidable. There are many things that fall into that category.

It's also a slippery slope - if something is needed does that justify all means in getting it? And to what extent does America really need (a certain amount) of soldiers? It's one thing to defend its borders, but is every military action of necessity - as opposed to national will?

> that's an economic problem, isn't it?

Only if you think the need of any society to be able to defend itself is an economic problem.

> to what extent does America really need (a certain amount) of soldiers?

That depends on what threats we expect to have to deal with.

Also, if you argue that people with children should not be soldiers, you are taking out of the decision loop people who are likely to have a more restrained view of when violence should be used.

the people who die in war aren't the people who decide to get into a war.

They are the people who decide to pledge themselves knowing war is very much a possibility.

Plus, soldiers will see action/danger even when the country is not explicitly at war.

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