[lbo-talk] A Very Long Engagement

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

Yoshie:
> 2003).  And, of course, by 1917, the war itself must have radicalized
> many soldiers, sparking mutinies in the Russian, French, German,
> Italian, British, and other forces in 1917-1919.  (Of course, the
> Russian Revolution itself could not have happened without mutinous
> soldiers who refused orders to crush strikers and protesters and
> deserted from the front.)

Autre temps, autre moeurs.  These wars were fought with conscript armies.
Ditto for Vietnam, with similar effect (fragging).  The ruling classes have
learned their lessons since then, and started relying on mercenary forces.
As the neo-classical wisdom on specialization teaches us, it is more
effective to lure the lumpenproletariat to mercenary service in the imperial
army, and to fleece the working class to foot the bill, instead of forcing
the latter to do the fighting.  

BTW, who said that he can hire a half of the working class to kill the other
half?  Judging from the experience of the US mercenary forces, it takes much
less than a half.

Wojtek