When considering one’s moral responsibility we often take voluntariness into account and with good reason. If one was forced to commit some action against their will we usually claim that they are not morally responsible for what they did. We say this because, all things being equal, they didn’t voluntarily commit the act. Similarly, if a person was drafted (against their will) into the military we wouldn’t hold them responsible for engaging in an unjust war. They likely did not want to be there and they are trying to get out alive. But conscription is not the way of the military any longer. The drafts that took place in the 60’s have given way to a completely volunteer military. Jeff McMahan recently penned a nice essay on how we should treat volunteer soldiers over at the Boston Review (see here). It has sparked some debates in my social networking circles and thought readers might be interested in wrestling with some of the main points. Are volunteer soldiers morally responsible for their actions? Can we blame them for engaging in unjust wars?
Let’s consider a different case first: drunk drivers. If a drunk driver kills someone we hold them accountable EVEN THOUGH they could not control themselves (or did not voluntarily kill or hurt someone) while intoxicated. We do this because we go back in time and couch the blame when they did have control (when they voluntarily decided to get bombed) and say something like “you should have known then” (this is sometimes referred to as the tracing condition in the literature on moral responsibility). In the case of a volunteer soldier, should we treat them similarly? If they kill others unjustly(i.e. because their military has ordered them to) should we blame them for doing it? Many have said no. If they are ordered to do a deed they must or may get put in prison themselves for not following an order. I’m not convinced by those who think the volunteer soldier’s moral responsibility is mitigated just because they received an order from a higher-ranking official. I’m just not seeing why we can’t go back in the same way and point to the choice they have before enlisting. Since they are not forced to volunteer it seems we can couch the blame there. Again, assuming they had knowledge that the regime regularly engages in unjust wars.
The reality of the situation, at least for some who volunteer, is that they KNOW that their regime has been involved in unjust wars. For me, this knowledge is key to holding them blameworthy. Soldiers CAN BE justifiably blamed for killing and hurting others if they knew ahead of time (before volunteering) that the regime they volunteered for was engaged in unjust wars prior to volunteering, especially if it was in the recent past. It’s like getting into a car that you know the brakes have let go several times yet you decide to get in anyway because, let’s say, riding the car each day gets you a free education or some benefits. Am I not to blame if the brakes let go and I kill a family? Sure, we could blame the manufacturer (and we should), especially if the manufacturer designed the car to lose brake control from time to time. But that doesn’t mean we can’t also blame the driver who knowingly got into the car that has killed innocents in the recent past. Let’s also assume that the driver had no evidence to suggest the brakes were fixed. Surely we would think it’s appropriate to blame the driver, no? And, I see the driver similarly as I do the soldier who volunteers for a regime that they know involves themselves in unjust wars or actions. Now, if none of the wars were unjust then suddenly they were forced to engage in an unjust war–that would be different. And those cases speak to why a change to the system is needed (as suggested by McMahan). I agree that the system should be changed to fix that, but that’s a different bag of balls.
Those who say volunteers can’t say no to fighting in an unjust war therefore they are not morally responsible seem to be missing the point. If they know that there is a good chance that they could be “forced” to do so then they ought not sign up in the first place. So, I guess I’m saying that volunteer soldiers are morally responsible for engaging in an unjust war if they had prior knowledge that they would likely be asked to partake in given that regimes history (here I’m thinking of something like a Nazi Germany a second go-around–1st time shame on the system second time shame on the system and the soldiers who signed up to partake).
What do you think? Volunteer soldiers – blameworthy or not?
jaredhouston2012
December 3, 2013
What is it plausible to assume that the soldiers have the knowledge you claim is sufficient for us holding them blameworthy for the wrongdoings of war? Most volunteer soldiers are poor, and young. Poor and young people are not well educated, especially in the United States. If the volunteer pool from which the armed forces draws is mostly poor, uneducated persons, they may well be under-informed regarding the moral history of warfare. Additionally, there is the threat that the soldiers are mis-informed. That is, there are systemic attempts to disrupt the flow of morally salient information regarding warfare (which there clearly is i.e. Iraq), or the background culture and life prospects for poor young soldiers preclude them from having the skills or time that is necessary to properly investigate this issue.
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Anonymous
December 4, 2013
Only speaking for America today, but the average soldier comes from an above average income home….
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Justin Caouette
December 7, 2013
Really!? Do you have a source for that claim? I thought that Jared’s point that “most volunteer soldiers are poor” was likely true.
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ceabbate
December 23, 2013
There are many studies that would disagree. The average Soldier in the U.S. comes from a middle class background.
Click to access npp_mrfy09_full_report.pdf
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2006/10/who-are-the-recruits-the-demographic-characteristics-of-us-military-enlistment-2003-2005
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Justin Caouette
December 23, 2013
Thanks for the references, Cheryl. I think this information bolsters the position I was advocating for in the post.
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Justin Caouette
December 3, 2013
Great points! I initially was going to address them in the body of the post but I didn’t want to make the post too long. That said let me try and offer a response now.
I don’t assume that they all do, Jared (have the knowledge that their government wages unjust wars). But some do. Also, it’s important to note that there are always circumstances that could mitigate one’s moral responsibility. Coercion is one such circumstance and if one doesn’t have another viable option outside of volunteering it would seem that such cases would be coercive. All I am trying to claim is that at least *some* volunteers are morally responsible (many of those entering after Iraq and with a decent education seem to fit the bill, at least prima facie) and appealing to the fact that they cannot disobey an order from their superior officer *does not* excuse them from moral blame.
If one is coerced into “volunteering” this *could* mitigate their moral responsibility, and likely would in most cases. I am certainly not trying to say that all volunteer soldiers are morally responsible, only that some are, particularly those that enter as an officer (most have Bachelor degrees and are legacy enlistees).
Also, being misinformed could mitigate responsibility as well. I am definitely open to that in cases not relating to volunteer armies (for example tackling someone who is thought to be stealing or something like that) so I would think that it could be a mitigating circumstance in the volunteer army cases as well. To be clear, I am only trying to let blame creep in here, the suggestion *is not* to blame all volunteer soldiers. I hope that clarifies most of your concerns.
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Clare Flourish
December 5, 2013
What about a belief that the government has not engaged in unjust wars? Someone who only gets news from a nationalist source, say. Someone whose parents in the military gave an unduly rosy portrait of its use.
Or:
There has been an unjust war
Therefore, new volunteers will be found culpable for joining
Therefore no-one can volunteer
Therefore the country is undefended, and will be overrun
-so someone enlists because he believes the good he will do will outweigh the bad
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Justin Caouette
December 6, 2013
Hi Clare. Good questions.
Some ignorance is culpable and some is not. If one knows their sources are nationalist and they do not attempt to seek out further information (esp. since joining the military is such an important decision) then at least some of those people will be culpable for holding their beliefs.
Regarding your second point: the person who enlists because they think the good they are doing will outweigh the bad will have to show why that is the case (since they are admitting that they will likely do bad). I think they would have a hard time doing so. It seems plausible that if no one is enlisting then we might have an opportunity to make some changes to the system so that it could better protect against involvement in unjust wars so that people could enlist again. McMahan’s suggestions in the linked Boston Review article would alleviate these concerns.
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rung2diotimasladder
November 20, 2014
I think if someone knowingly volunteers for an unjust war, then yes, they are culpable. This is going to be a very difficult thing to prove, however.
If they believe the war is just and find out later due to evidence that could not have been foreseen that it’s not, but they’re forced to go on, not culpable. This is the case for many Vietnam veterans, of course, including those who were drafted. (My father is one such case, and he bemoaned the fact that he could have easily dodged the draft and didn’t because he felt, in his young and naive mind, that he was doing a duty to his country).
But the question goes back to what Claire said. Then there’s the question of whether or not the war is just. This is a complicated matter. It would be horrible to play the blame game on veterans without having certain knowledge of this.
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