Post by RS Davis on Apr 25, 2004 10:28:52 GMT -5
Dear Editor:
As Senator Chuck Hagel and others call for the re-establishment of military conscription, it is worth remembering Ayn Rand's words:
"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. Once that principle is accepted, the rest is only a matter of time.
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?"
David Holcberg
Ayn Rand Institute
Copyright © 2004 Ayn Rand® Institute, 2121 Alton Parkway, Suite 250, Irvine, CA, 92606. All rights reserved.
This letter is copyrighted by the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI), and cannot be reprinted without permission except for non-commercial, self-study or educational purposes. We encourage you to forward this letter to friends, family, associates or interested parties who would want to receive it for these purposes only. Any reproduction of this letter must contain the above copyright notice. Those interested in reprinting or redistributing this letter for any other purposes should contact media@aynrand.org. This letter may not be forwarded to media for publication.
As Senator Chuck Hagel and others call for the re-establishment of military conscription, it is worth remembering Ayn Rand's words:
"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. Once that principle is accepted, the rest is only a matter of time.
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?"
David Holcberg
Ayn Rand Institute
Copyright © 2004 Ayn Rand® Institute, 2121 Alton Parkway, Suite 250, Irvine, CA, 92606. All rights reserved.
This letter is copyrighted by the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI), and cannot be reprinted without permission except for non-commercial, self-study or educational purposes. We encourage you to forward this letter to friends, family, associates or interested parties who would want to receive it for these purposes only. Any reproduction of this letter must contain the above copyright notice. Those interested in reprinting or redistributing this letter for any other purposes should contact media@aynrand.org. This letter may not be forwarded to media for publication.
