The USFG should abolish the Draft.

Libertarians stand firmly against conscription, which is a form of public enslavement imposed mostly for the purposes of waging war. Aside from the waste, inefficiency and unfairness of these Draft programs, no government can be trusted with such power, a power which stands in opposition to individual rights. Murray Rothbard notes, "Conscription remains popular among states because it is an easy way to directly extract resources from the population. Just as regular taxes partially extract the savings, productivity, and labor of the general population, conscription extracts virtually all of the labor and effort of the conscripts. The burden falls disproportionately on the young males in most cases, and they are at risk of a much higher tax burden if killed or given a permanent disability in battle. If he"s lucky enough to survive the conflict, the conscript may find himself living out the rest of his life as disfigured or missing his eyesight and limbs. He may be rendered permanently undesirable to the opposite sex. Such costs imposed on the conscript are a form of lifelong taxation" [1]. In other words, going to war can have devastating and permanent effects on the mind and body. To force someone to risk their life and well being against their will is indeed a form of slavery. It involves the control of another person and forcible labor. It requires the dismissal of their rights and freedoms. It gives the government the power to disregard an innocent person's right to life and bodily autonomy. Ayn Rand writes, "Of all the statist violations of individual rights in a mixed economy, the military draft is the worst. It is an abrogation of rights. It negates man"s fundamental right"the right to life"and establishes the fundamental principle of statism: that a man"s life belongs to the state, and the state may claim it by compelling him to sacrifice it in battle... If the state may force a man to risk death or hideous maiming and crippling, in a war declared at the state"s discretion, for a cause he may neither approve of nor even understand, if his consent is not required to send him into unspeakable martyrdom"then, in principle, ALL rights are negated in that state, and its government is not man"s protector any longer. What else is there left to protect?" [2]. The Draft represents involuntary servitude. A volunteer army is the only righteous way to defend a free country. If one's country is being attacked, people (probably men) should volunteer to fight if they value their rights, lives and freedom. As such, a free (or even semi-free) country has never lacked volunteers in the face of legitimate aggression. That's because self-defense is necessary to protect one's valued way of life. If one would prefer to flee, that should be their right, for humans are not inherently or intrinsically bound or have sworn allegiance to a particular nation. The Draft can force people to fight and die for causes and/or countries they might not care about, and in cases where their safety or well-being is not in immediate or legitimate danger. Consider the last time the Draft was utilized in the United States. The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial conflicts in American history. It became increasingly unpopular as American soldiers were conscripted and forced to fight in a completely unnecessary conflict. It was the longest and most unpopular war the U.S. ever fought, yet people were still forced to die [3]. America was not at risk when the government decided to mandate young citizens risk their lives in Vietnam. This proves the government can manufacture and/or manipulate reasons to force people to fight to the death. Inhibiting the Draft would decrease the likelihood of our government getting involved in unnecessary conflict. Military authorities have testified that a volunteer army (an army of people who know what they are fighting for and why) is the best, most effective army, and that a drafted one is the least effective [2]. There is no use for poorly trained, poorly motivated infantrymen. Less intelligent soldiers get killed in hugely disproportionate numbers. Drafted armies are by their nature amateur armies [4]. Conscription is never applied fairly. The Draft leads to "a rich man's war, a poor man's fight" [5]. Deciding who lives or dies on the basis of drawing random numbers is also completely unfair. Being called to war could threaten a person's livelihood, education, career, future and family. "A compulsory draft is far more typical of totalitarian nations than of democratic nations. The theory behind it leads directly to totalitarianism. It is absolutely opposed to the principles of individual liberty which have always been considered a part of American democracy." " Senator Robert A. Taft, August 14, 1940 [1] https://mises.org... [2] http://aynrandlexicon.com... [3] http://history-world.org... [4] http://warontherocks.com... [5] http://truth-out.org...