Subject: Re: AUT: bush's speech and volunteerism
Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2002 09:56:37 -0500


Thanks for the info Peter.
I think you're right that part of the civil conscription schemes is to 
adjust people to work. I also think that it's a way to get important social 
service work done at low cost, by rewarding people with praise as good 
citizens instead of wages and benefits, and at least here in the US a way to 
forward privatization agendas, as folks serving in these programs are often 
actually working at various private agencies, even though the government is 
paying the (modest) cost. This dispersion of civil conscripts also makes it 
harder to organize, at least to organize in old forms like unions and the 
like, since folks are placed at a variety of sites and often have no contact 
with each other at all.


>From: Peter Jovanovic <peterzoran-AT-hotmail.com>
>Reply-To: aut-op-sy-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>To: aut-op-sy-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>Subject: Re: AUT: bush's speech and volunteerism
>Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2002 14:40:04 +1100
>
>hi all
>
>>A couple things-
>>Can folks from outside the US tell me something about what, if any,
>>national/social service plans the governments in your respective homes
>>operate? I'm under the impression that many countries require military or
>>social service for some time period. Is this true?
>
>Nate in australia there has been no military conscription since 71 or 72
>thanks to the anti-vietnam war struggles here. dinosaur right-wingers here
>periodically call for conscription, usually with the justification that it
>would straighten out the misguided youth rather than for military reasons,
>but they aren't taken too seriously. the oz military despite their
>recruitment problems is not in favour of conscription.
>
>as to civil conscription (barred in our constitution i believe) i think the
>purpose of the 'work-for-dole' scheme  is more to get people used to the
>shitfullness of work rather than doing any particular services for the
>state. only a minority of the unemployed are forced into work for the dole
>anyway.
>
>i think most european countries with conscription allow civilian service as
>an alternative, eg in hospitals, disabled homes or even the police in some
>parts. france got rid of conscription a few years ago as part of a more
>general modernisation of the military and i think germany is likely to
>follow shortly.
>
>peter
>
>
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