Self-study
P1
Opponents of compulsory national service claim that such a program is not in keeping with the liberal principles upon which Western democracies are founded. ███
Other people's (OP) perspective ·
Compulsory national service goes against liberal principles
Analogy for OP's perspective ·
Income tax is undemocratic because it violates property rights
Critique of OP's perspective ·
Context of community is basis of individual rights
Community requires shared sacrifice.
Application of community context to taxes ·
Taxes justified for protection of society
Without taxes, there's no law enforcement, which would deprive society of communal benefit.
P2
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Application of community context to national service ·
Compulsory service justified for protection of society
Responsibility to defend one's nation against outside enemies is just as important as responsibility to pay taxes to support law enforcement.
P3
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Potential rebuttal by OP ·
Taxes and national service are not analogous
Coercion isn't required to get people to join the army, but is required to get people to pay taxes. And, proponents of national service extend compulsory duties to things beyond defending the nation.
P4
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Response to potential rebuttal ·
OP admits that state can demand service when needed
The issue becomes the scope of the "need." Everyone agrees that taxes are appropriate for things besides national defense. So where's the line between what activities are beneficial enough for compulsory service and what's not?
Support for compulsory national service ·
Broad conception of "need" is justified
Passage Style
Critique or debate
5.
Based on the information in ███ ████████ █████ ███ ██ ███ █████████ █████ ████ ██████ ██ █████ █████████████ ██ █████ ███ ██████ ██████████ ████████ ████████
a
the use of ███ ████████ ██ ███████ ███ █████ ██ ████████ ███████ ██ ███████ ██████
Opponents of compulsory national service are likely to agree with this, since it protects the country against foreign threats. We know from P4 that their view commits them to agreeing with taxes being used for things that are necessary for the state’s survival and for certain programs that, while not essential, still benefit society.
b
the use of ███ ████████ ██ ████ ██████ ███████ ███ ███████ ██ ███████ █████████ ██ █████ ███████
Of all the options, opponents of compulsory service are most likely to find this use of tax revenues objectionable. (B) doesn’t protect the nation or directly benefit the citizens’ own society, so opponents of compulsory national service might see it as the government overstepping its bounds.
c
the use of ███ ████████ ██ ███████ ███ ██████ ██ ███ ████████ ████████ ████
Opponents of compulsory national service are likely to agree with this, since a standing army can be mobilized to protect the country. We know from P4 that their view commits them to agreeing with taxes being used for things that are necessary for the state’s survival and for certain programs that, while not essential, still benefit society.
d
the use of ███ ████████ ██ ████ ████████ ███ ███ ███████████ ██ ████████ ████ ███ ███████
Opponents of compulsory national service may agree with this, since these programs benefit society. We know from P4 that their view commits them to agreeing with taxes being used for certain beneficial programs that aren’t necessary for the state’s survival.
e
the use of ███ ████████ ██ ███ ████████ ███ ███ ███████ ██ ███████ █████████
Opponents of compulsory national service may agree with this, since it benefits society by supporting citizens. We know from P4 that their view commits them to agreeing with taxes being used for certain beneficial programs that aren’t necessary for the state’s survival.