- Capitalism and Alternatives -

Not quite ...

In Reply to: What you describe is not socialism. posted by Christopotoclum on April 01, 1999 at 18:49:36:

This is a simple case of 'putting the cart before the horse'. The nature of industrialized society necessitated compulsory service, by the simple fact that it was now possible, and highly effective, to mobilize mass numbers of combatants, overwhelming potential opponents with manpower. Napoleon profited from this dynamic, enabling him to moblize huge forces that could be used to defeat multiple foes. Even before the Corsican, Prussia implemented a similar system to make use of a limited reserve of population to the fullest. These sorts of advances in military techniques are forced by the nature of technology, and are evolutional.

If you wish to connect this sort of thing with socialism, think of the commander who would use this 'total mobilization' of society in peacetime, and how intellectuals might go about justifying such a system. I would refer you to The Managerial Revolution, by James Burnham, to see such a system of 'total management' in gestation. Of course, what succeeds so well in war is a dismal failure in peace - thus the intellectual bankruptcy of communism, but that is for another day ...

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