The purpose of this research is to examine the issue of conscription as a philosophical concept of political justice. The plan of the research will be to set forth the context in which the issue of conscription as an instrument of political policy may arise, and then to discuss, with reference to various philosophers of state structure, the nexus of theories of statism and the rationale or explication of the practice of conscription.
The question of conscription as a valid policy of state involves consideration of the circumstances under which the state might compel a citizen to relinquish individual discretion and become part of a military force. Answering such a question goes to the consideration of the very structure of society, for it must be presumed that conscription is put forward as a policy in part for the reasons of state. It follows that the validity of state policies both in general and in particular is an aspect of the legitimacy of the state. Various theories of reformist social structure that have arisen since the rise of philosophies that point toward the formation of the modern state provide a useful framework for considering perceptions of and rationale for or against the validity of conscription. In particular, the theories of utilitarianism, the social contract, and liberalism will be treated, as well as theoretical interpretations that either analyze or build upon them as a means of identifying or discovering an appropriate conception of the state and of such policies as conscription within the state.
The overarching principle of utilitarianism is the achievement of the greatest good or happiness for the greatest number. Implicit in this is a philosophy of social morality, wherein individual achievements of happiness may (but do not have to) intersect with the happiness of the greater number. Happiness is not defined as a permanent pitch of excitement but rather a kind of order, an absence of pain o...