Council Democracy and the Causes of War
Wars waged in any state of Total Mobilization are expensive, and the Totality is fully aware of this. Council Democracy, unlike Parliamentary Democracy, grants the Totality the chance to provide a unanimous or at least a majority consensus on whether they will support the State in war. The State must listen to the Totality’s concerns, being fully aware of the political consequences when declaring war against another nation. If there are ways of averting conflict, they should be pursued whenever possible and without any risk to the stability of the Work-Standard and the Socialist nation relying on it. There will be no compromises on the Work-Standard nor will the State be coerced by foreign governments into phasing out the Work-Standard. It is senseless to compel the State, let alone the Totality controlling the State, into taking such actions.
Any casus belli can no longer be justified entirely by the State as it was the case prior to the 20th century. The Totality now has its decision to make on whether the Socialist nation should go to war or not. Once a decision has been made, the Totality must stick with that decision until the State negotiates an end to the conflict with the opposing force. Under no circumstances is there to be enough dissent to destabilize the war effort, from the burning of draft cards to labor strikes sparked by the sudden formations of labor unions. The State should be preparing for those conditions and more because it will always be the final authority on deciding to start a war.
The Totality of our Socialist nation may not always appreciate this, but they need to be self-aware of the possibilities that certain wars are unavoidable. Their State may inform them of an impending attack or an ongoing attack on the Socialist nation, and they must be prepared to help the State defend the Socialist nation. Alternatively, their State may convince them that their neighbors or another nation is preparing to invade the Socialist nation and they must launch a preemptive invasion before the enemy can make the first move. The intelligence reports, should it ever be the latter, has to be credible and not fabricated by the State. The Totality has a Constitutional Obligation to hold the State accountable if there is incontrovertible evidence that the State fabricated such evidence.
Our Socialist nation must not become riled up over wars waged by the State to seize natural resources like crude oil and base metals. If the Council State has plenty of Geld to invest in the invasion of another country’s oil fields, it should instead be investing the mass production of zero-carbon synthetic fuels. If the Council State has plenty of Geld to invest in similar invasions, it should also be investing in technologies designed to realize the alchemical process of transmuting one base metal into another base metal. Scientists have known since the past century that it is theoretically possible to transmute one base metal into another base metal, but additional research and development is not happening under Liberal Capitalist regimes. Whether the Socialist nation is interested in determining the efficacy of such methods, by spending Geld on the construction of a particle accelerator, should be brought into consideration as an alternative to wars or even Real Trade Agreements (RTAs).
Let’s be honest with ourselves: the Work-Standard is capable of coming across to people accustomed to Kapital and Schuld as a form of ‘financial alchemy’. The processes by which Arbeit can be transmuted into Geld can be interpreted by anyone unconvinced of Socialism as a sort of magic which has yet to be understood. If an alternative Currency Standard like the Work-Standard is capable of being realized, what else can be realized with enough creativity and imagination?
In any case, we will also not be compelling the Socialist nation into attacking our adjacent neighbors in direct violation of international treaties. We are also not going to invade another country to launch an ideological “Crusade against Bolshevism” in violation of a hypothetical Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact to seize the crude oil fields of Baku in the Soviet Republic of Armenia. We may have old rivalries with some of our neighbors, but to fight all of them at once is idiotic. The Third Reich made this foolish mistake, despite signing three bilateral trade agreements with the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union being interested in joining the Axis Powers against the Allied Powers. Yes, the Soviet Union could have sided with the Axis Powers and the outcome of the Second World War could have occurred differently than what actually happened.
The foreign policy of the Socialist nation shall not be informed by conspiracy theories. International politics requires cool-headed and calculated posturing wherever the risk of war is intense. We cannot always blame the historical past of the Socialist nation on everything that has happened in prior centuries. Any nation and its rulers can be as irrational as they can be rational when deciding to start a war. At the same time, we also have to take into consideration preexisting historical enmities between different nations.
There may be possibilities for another Totality under a Liberal Capitalist regime to be swept into a wartime over a perceived atrocity, whether real or imagined. The Totality in a Liberal Capitalist regime, if they have grown complacent and docile by their consumerist culture, can become complicit in justifying a war. One has to be astonished by how willing the American Totality has been at supporting a confrontation over Cuba for instance. Let us reinvestigate Cuba from a Hamiltonian Federalist perspective.
Was the USS Maine deliberately attacked by the Spanish, thereby causing the Spanish-American War? Is the American Totality even aware of the obscure historical fact that the Jeffersonians have been clamoring for any excuse to attack Cuba since the 19th century? Thomas Jefferson and his other protégé James Monroe had no qualms about America seizing Cuba, preferably by economic coercion before military force. Their Intent was to capture the international markets on the island. Some of their intellectual heirs had even sided with Southern slave owners in a secret plot called the “Ostend Manifesto,” motivating the Northern Abolitionists’ casus belli for the American Civil War. And the Implicit Intents of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and the Cuban Communists are supportive of this Hamiltonian Federalist argument against invading Cuba, given their agreement with the Soviets to establish ballistic missile facilities on the island, allowing the events of the “Cuban Missile Crisis” to be set into motion. It does not matter whether Cuba is a Marxist Socialist regime or not; the Jeffersonians will do anything to seize Cuba’s international markets at any cost.
Those are just examples of how wars begin. Always remember that if is any justification to start a war, there will also be opportunities to avert. That begins with understanding one’s own history.
On the State’s Three-Year Conscription Policy
The Socialist nation shall maintain a conscription policy that lasts for three years. Do note that the conscription can be fulfilled by anybody who is not a genuine conscientious objector. The Work-Standard provides the necessary means for the State to minimize the chances of draft dodging. There are plenty of ways for one to fulfill their draft requirements from the State. This begins as early as one’s teenage years in the secondary schools of their Socialist Student Economy (SSE).
The Socialist nation has two forms of conscription: military conscription and work-conscription. All males and females in good health between the ages of 17 and 34 are eligible for military conscription. For work-conscription, males and females in good health between the ages of 17 and the retirement age set forth by the State. Anyone older than the set retirement age may be entitled to a retirement pension as the dependent of their family’s household.
For military conscription, note that “Actual Arbeit” and “Actual Geld” are only applicable to the Life-Energization Reciprocity (LER) process. Military conscription has sources of “Military Arbeit” and “Military Geld” that need to be converted into Actual Arbeit and “Actual Geld by the Central Bank. Much like the “Digital Arbeit” and “Digital Geld” in the LERE (Life-Energization Reciprocal Electrification) process which we will be discussing in the rest of the SMP Compendium, there are accommodations under the Work-Standard for the Socialist nation to facilitate different forms of Arbeit and Geld, depending on the Totality’s level of technical expertise and technological sophistication in both peacetime and wartime conditions.
For the Council State, the Ministry of War will be maintaining the Paygrades and the healthcare of military personnel. Instead of the Central Bank, the General Staff has two modes for handling the LER and LERE processes from within the realm of military logistics. In peacetime conditions, the Ministry of Energy & Armaments Production will be conducting both processes. In wartime conditions, especially when the military is deployed overseas, the logistical formations will be responsible. In practice, we can expect the Military Arbeit and Military Geld to be separated from the Arbeit and Geld created by the rest of the Socialist nation. Only when there is secured communications with the Central Bank, will the armed forces be converting their Military Arbeit and Military Geld into actual ones. It works the same way with Digital Arbeit and Digital Geld.
When the draft card arrives in the mail, one must pick military conscription or work-conscription. Choose either and the other requirement will suffice because most work-conscripts eventually receive the military training of voluntary reservists. Anyone who opts for work-conscription may be ineligible for Military Arbeit and Military Geld. There is an Implicit Intent behind why the Totality has zero tolerance for unemployment and underemployment. Anyone who has not yet been able to find their Vocation in Life are always eligible for the draft within the given age ranges.
Looking back at your teenage years, begin by asking yourself the following questions:
- Are you a Conscientious Objector who genuinely holds the religious and ethical beliefs of an Anabaptist Amishman or else just somebody who cannot bear the rigors and burdens of contributing “Military Arbeit?” If so, you are ineligible for military conscription, but you may voluntarily be entitled to work-conscription devoid of any military training.
- Are you deferring conscription by enrolling in a university? If so, you are still eligible for both military conscription and work-conscription. Your SSE’s student government is allowed by the State to establish the “student combat groups,” the “student intelligence corps,” the “student prefect patrols,” and “student paramilitary sporting groups.” If the Ministry of War finds it necessary under the direst circumstances, be aware that those formations may be inducted into the armed forces of the Socialist nation. But that will only happen if the enemy has breached the border and there are literally enemy paratroopers landing on your school or university campus like in the original Red Dawn movie.
- Are you a part of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transger) people’s community? If so, you are eligible for either military conscription or work-conscription. Just like the university students, the SSE can also be your chance to fulfill the three-year draft.
- Are you physically, mentally, psychologically or spiritually incapable of withstanding Military Arbeit? If so, you are ineligible for military conscription, but may be eligible for work-conscription if you are capable of passing a physical health exam on behalf of your doctor or a psychological evaluation from a psychiatric or psychological practice.
- Are you interacting with a Vocation that the State deems as essential? If so, you are ineligible for both military conscription and work-conscription. The State is always looking for young people to develop and manufacture military hardware, invest their Geld and Arbeit into NSFIs offered by Office VI (“Priority Requisition”) at their local Kontore, and volunteering to help scientists, engineers, medical professions, economic planners, bankers and childcare providers, state commissars, emergency services and other important professions. The State will also need people who are willing to voluntarily pursue Vocations in the Armaments Industry.
By accepting military conscription, the Ministry of War will be in charge of issuing your Paygrades for as long as you are in the armed forces, regardless of the military branch. Your opportunity of contributing Military Arbeit and generating Military Geld begins on the first day of basic training. But should you arrive at the conclusion that the military is your Vocation in Life, the State has a Constitutional Obligation to let you turn your military conscription into an actual Vocation in itself. We will be exploring the concepts of Military Arbeit and Military Geld in Part III of “Wartime Preparations and the Work-Standard.” And even at some point, we will be investigating ways for the Socialist nation to combat the psychological trauma caused by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a relevant SMP Compendium entry, “Technology and the War Effort.”
But should you choose to accept work-conscription, do not be discouraged by anyone or anything that may prevent you from having to take that option. The State is always looking for young people on special assignments that do not involve the military. As mentioned earlier in Part III of “Taxation and the Work-Standard,” somebody has to take care of the land, buildings and tenants that the State is planning to sell on a later date. There are plenty of ways for the State to provide opportunities to allow you to plant your foot in the door and avoid being drafted into the military.
Weaponizing the Attrition/Inaction Rate
The worst enemy to the Socialist nation is not the opposing nation, but the Attrition/Inaction Rate affecting their Currency pegged to the Work-Standard. It is imperative that the Totality be aware that the Attrition/Inaction Rate will cause economic and financial damage to the Socialist nation. The Attrition/Inaction Rate does not just affect everyday life in peacetime. It will also affect the military capabilities of the Socialist nation to fend off enemy attacks at home or unleash counteroffensive operations abroad. Even in the worst-case scenario, the Socialist nation is better off relying on the Attrition/Inaction Rate because one cannot effectively apply Attrition Warfare tactics in the realm of Financial Warfare with an Inflation/Deflation Rate.
The State and the Totality, whenever it is possible to transmit well-encrypted communications, must pay attention to the Attrition/Inaction Rate at all times. The Attrition/Inaction Rate informs everyone about how much everyone is working to sustain the war effort. It can provide a good indicator on the extent of the enemy’s destruction of the VCS Economy, regardless of the weapon and military doctrine. It can also provide information about whether the Socialist nation sustained a massive loss of military personnel and materiel in a major campaign or decisive battle. Expect the Attrition Rate to rise in response to those losses.
Conversely, if the Socialist nation has been conducting a successful military campaign or a decisive battle, we can expect its Attrition Rate to be lower. The military will not be needing a lot of replacements in both manpower and equipment. This can provide the Totality with enough breaking room to rest, minimizing the risk of Currency Depreciation. The State should take advantage of this possibility under the right circumstances. The VCS Economy will need to in order for the Totality to decide over whether a revalued Currency or a devalued Currency will allow the Socialist nation to emerge from the war victorious.
We must be aware that even though we rely on the Attrition/Inaction Rate as our metric, we cannot assume that the enemy also relies on it as well. It is possible for the enemy to be a Liberal Capitalist regime relying on an Inflation/Deflation Rate. In that case, an Inflation/Deflation Rate is a double-edge sword. On the one hand, we cannot accurately measure the extent of the opposing Totality’s support for their nation’s war effort. But on the other hand, this can be beneficial for us because even if we cannot know for certain what their Attrition Rate is, the enemy will also be uncertain.
This was definitely the case during the Vietnam War, the last major conflict where the US military had the permission to draft Americans. Most Americans in the 1960s, regardless of whether they supported or opposed the war in Vietnam, were probably unaware of the economic and financial toll that the conflict was inflicting on their Market Economy. That Jeffersonian Lyndon Barnes Johnson was trying to finance the Great Society programs, a massive Welfare Capitalist scheme, and maintain the Gold Standard vis-à-vis the Bretton Woods System as the same time. There was simply not enough Gold in existence for the US to sustain both the war and the Great Society because LBJ raised taxes just to finance the war effort. And even then, a growing segment of the American population lost support for the conflict in the wake of the Tet Offensive in 1968.
More importantly, most Americans are also unaware if the economic instabilities of Market Economy did play a role in the outcomes of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. It remains to be seen whether the historians, economists, political and military scientists are going to argue about whether the effects of the Great Recession affected the US military’s deployments in Iraq. It also remains to be seen if the Coronavirus Pandemic played a role in the more recent withdrawal in Afghanistan. Both conflicts were waged by Jeffersonians relying on the Schuld Standard as opposed to the Gold Standard like in the Vietnam War. The US National Debt and the Federal budgetary deficits since the 9/11 attacks are a living testament to this economic reality.
It remains to be seen if there will be ways for the Work-Standard to develop an Attrition/Inaction custom-built for Liberal Capitalist regimes. That is an important consideration because the methodologies of the Inflation/Deflation Rate must be distinguished from the ones preferred by the Attrition/Inaction Rate. For as of this Compendium entry, there available means to gauge the Attrition/Inaction Rate for Currencies pegged to the Schuld Standard.
Categories: Compendium
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