As a comment to a post I made on my Facebook page about Socialism, someone posted this photo:
My reply:
Is the military socialist? Seems like it. You work a specified number of hours and you can get a paycheck, free housing, free meals, free clothing, free dental and free healthcare. When I was in Afghanistan, the only necessity I had to pay out of my own pocket was haircuts. This sounds like what we are calling socialism nowadays, you work, and everything is free!
But the definition of socialism is: A political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
The military produces nothing tangible, unless you consider security tangible. And as far as members of the military community having any say in how things are run, that’s laughable. The main, basic tenet of socialism is the people making up the community control the community. The military is the exact opposite. When the Division Commander says, “Move out”, 10,000+ soldiers say, “Yes Sir” and step off with their right foot. There is no discussion or vote.
I personally don’t believe the military is an organization that functions under socialist guidelines. All of those “freebies” military personnel receive are nothing more than benefits. Many civilian businesses offer free healthcare, dental, company car, maternity leave, etc. They offer good benefits to attract and retain the best employees.
If people believe socialism is great and the military is a good example of socialism that works, why is there not a waiting list to get in? Instead, the opposite is true. Some branches of the military are not reaching their recruiting goals. Historically, barely 1% of the adult population serves in the military. Why? It sounds so great. Good pay. Free Stuff. Twenty-year retirement.
Maybe it’s because military service is inherently dangerous. In what other occupation can you and your crew be killed performing your job and it’s considered “acceptable losses”?