ABSTRACT
The system whereby labor services are not acquired through markets, but become available by special enlistment laws, is unique to the production of national security. The historical origins of the “mass army” and conscription can be traced to the revolutions at the end of the eighteenth century, which in addition to stimulating the rise of nation states also promoted the idea that good citizenship combines the rights it grants with the duty to defend the state. At the same time, industrial and technological developments made it possible for states to maintain military organizations based on large numbers of soldiers. Combined, these trends supplied the political-social justification and the practical conditions for mass armies and universal military service. However, in order to attain universal military service it was necessary to deprive individuals of their freedom of choice, and to refrain from using market mechanisms and economic incentives in recruiting military manpower.
