I am certain that all of these reasons are valid [for young people turning away from military service] but I’m not sure how you square it with their very high levels of voluntarism. People unwilling to identify with their nation but willing to contribu...
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I am certain that all of these reasons are valid [for young people turning away from military service] but I’m not sure how you square it with their very high levels of voluntarism. People unwilling to identify with their nation but willing to contribute to their society, that’s a head scratcher for the Benedict Andersonians
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@liamvhogan gonna take more than n=19 to convince me that it is not just full employment doing its thing
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@jasonwilson on one hand, good, on the other hand, even better
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@liamvhogan As usual, ignoring the elephant in the room, precarity. Hard to hold down a career when your whole family is working to pay the rent on a shoebox which your landlord might evict you from tomorrow adding an hour to your commute.
Maybe the defence force should offer more part-time roles and more WFH positions. Actually serious.
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@futzle I mean my point is the same precarious and employed people *do* in fact volunteer in large numbers in organisations that deal with bushfires, floods, etc. and for no pay
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@liamvhogan perhaps the answer lies less in the works of Benedict Anderson and more in the lived experience of Benedict Arnold
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@liamvhogan all you need to do is tell the young kids that it’s a socialist utopia and they’ll join right up.
Housing provided either free or heavily subsidised. Meals either free or heavily subsidised. Uniforms, PPE, equipment, and consumables all provided. Transport provided when required to go off-site. And if you choose to live on-base, you’re choosing to live in a walkable city. Guaranteed employment as long as you want it, with clear career progression, if you don’t fuck up.
I mean, what’s not to like?
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@liamvhogan I think the whole "shooting brown people overseas in the service of big oil" might be a bit of a turn off, glad to see the article completely ignores this