Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
On that rare occasion when a lefty heaps praise upon the military, a not-so-secret ulterior motive surely lurks nearby. Exhibit A, Nicholas Kristof's column in today's New York Times.
[W]hen our armed forces are not firing missiles, they live by an astonishingly liberal ethos — and it works. The military helped lead the way in racial desegregation, and even today it does more to provide equal opportunity to working-class families — especially to blacks — than just about any social program. It has been an escalator of social mobility in American society because it invests in soldiers and gives them skills and opportunities.
The United States armed forces knit together whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics from diverse backgrounds, invests in their education and training, provides them with excellent health care and child care. And it does all this with minimal income gaps: A senior general earns about 10 times what a private makes, while, by my calculation, C.E.O.’s at major companies earn about 300 times as much as those cleaning their offices. That’s right: the military ethos can sound pretty lefty.
I grant that what Kristof says of the military is true: it's color blind, diverse, and offers social mobility and opportunity to those who would otherwise find themselves stuck in the lower rungs of society. I wouldn't, however, ascribe a "lefty ethos" to an organization that has historically prided itself as a meritocracy (though the more the military kowtows to political correctness, the more lefty it becomes).
Kristof goes on to extol the military as a paragon of fairness, socialism and compassion, and suggests that it might be a good model for the rest of American society to follow.
The military is innately hierarchical, yet it nurtures a camaraderie in part because the military looks after its employees. This is a rare enclave of single-payer universal health care, and it continues with a veterans’ health care system that has much lower costs than the American system as a whole.
Perhaps the most impressive achievement of the American military isn’t its aircraft carriers, stunning as they are. Rather, it’s the military day care system for working parents.
[...]
[A]s we as a country grope for new directions in a difficult economic environment, the tendency has been to move toward a corporatist model that sees investments in people as woolly-minded sentimentalism or as unaffordable luxuries. That’s not the only model out there.
So as the United States armed forces try to pull Iraqi and Afghan societies into the 21st century, maybe they could do the same for America’s.
What Kristof values about the military isn't the heroism, job performance, or success on the battlefield demonstrated by our service men and women, it's their use of taxpayer funded child care, health care, and education. If all we're interested in is which government entity doles out the best taxpayer perks, the military is surely not the place to look. Why not point to the post office or the IRS or the EPA?
Contrary to what Nick Kristof might believe, the solution to our economic problems cannot be found in more taxpayer funded perks, nor in more government employees.
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Jul '10
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
I'm sold. Let's have The Military operate Our public schools. Maybe then they'll get some learnin' done.
Nov '10
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
From the excellent Baseball Crank blog, here's an explanation of why Kristof should be careful of what he wishes for: http://baseballcrank.com/archives2/2011/06/politics_milita.php
Jan '11
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
All of the socialism that Kristof ascribes to the military comes after a pledge of obedience. The individuals join the organization to advance goals that are dictated by the military hierarchy, and the whole system works because soldiers agree to follow orders. The military provides these services because while soldiers are following those orders, they don’t have the ability to provide for themselves. A soldier’s job doesn’t generate money, so to enable soldiers to perform military tasks, the government has to provide for them.
But American citizens don’t join America to advance a collective goal, dictated by a hierarchy. The experiment of America was precisely to reject that. American citizens aren’t pawns to be sacrificed for the collective good. In American society, citizens don’t follow orders. The premise of individual freedom is that the individual is self-directed, and that government exists to serve him, not the other way ‘round.
Ultimately, it shows one thing: liberalism only works if everyone follows the orders of the hierarchy.
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
KC Mulville: All of the socialism that Kristof ascribes to the military comes after a pledge of obedience. The individuals join the organization to advance goals that are dictated by the military hierarchy, and the whole system works because soldiers agree to follow orders. The military provides these services because while soldiers are following those orders, they don’t have the ability to provide for themselves. A soldier’s job doesn’t generate money, so to enable soldiers to perform military tasks, the government has to provide for them.
But American citizens don’t join America to advance a collective goal, dictated by a hierarchy. The experiment of America was precisely to reject that. American citizens aren’t pawns to be sacrificed for the collective good. In American society, citizens don’t follow orders. The premise of individual freedom is that the individual is self-directed, and that government exists to serve him, not the other way ‘round.
Ultimately, it shows one thing: liberalism only works if everyone follows the orders of the hierarchy.
Well said, KC.
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
This was a great post. Thanks for linking to it, Jim!
Mar '11
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
Diane,
Thanks for calling our attention to this article. It demonstrates a number of pathologies on the left.
KC is exactly right. At its best, camaraderie in the military isn’t based on some “share the land” mentality. It is built on a common recognition of each man’s humanity. Ideally, the training teaches every person to recognize their own limits. The discipline teaches ability and endurance. Because it does this, at its best, men see each other one at a time, as individuals, with our own strengths and weaknesses, before group identity.
For an entire nation to experience this, it would have to be militarized. That is, it would not be democratic or liberal. It would be a regime, like Sparta, dedicated to one virtue. If Nick Kristoff wishes to renounce decades of liberalism for that, at least he would have an intellectually consistent argument. But it is because Kristoff thinks there is no price to pay for this kind of organization, that material benefits circumscribe sacrifice for others, that makes him contemptuous.
Only a man who had never seen self-overcoming in another man’s eyes could think such a thing.
Aug '10
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
Does Kristoff believe that we should bring back conscription?
After all, if the military way of doing things is so good, why is it voluntary?
Maybe he believes the military way of doing things should be applied to all government agencies?
Would the post office would work better if it had it's own internal justice system and its own prisons?
So, basically, Kristoff is arguing FOR fascism. I mean, really, he's describing the society from Brazil.
Hmm...
Edited on Jun 16, 2011 at 1:57pmJan '11
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
What branch of the armed forces did Kristof serve in?
Boy, think how thrilled he's going to be when he discovers monasticism? I mean, there may not be any day-care, but everybody works in the fields together, nobody complains about the housing, they have great music and the wine isn't half-bad.
Oct '10
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
I’m doing my part….are you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMTz9nIUkGc
Edited on Jun 16, 2011 at 2:22pmDec '10
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
"The military helped lead the way in racial desegregation...." Well, that's sort of true, when it was left to itself. Then the federal government reversed that, when southern Democrats joined with Woodrow Wilson to segregate much of the civil service and the military. Black Americans fought alongside Washington as equals, but after the leftists took over D.C., it took decades for the military to get back to the point where they could lead the way in racial desegregation.
Feb '11
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
Diane, you actually read Nicholas Kristof columns??? I'm awed. That's a whole lot more intestinal fortitude than I can muster.
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
Kristof (and Krugman) columns routinely fall into the category of post fodder which we call low-hanging fruit. Ripe for the pickin' and easy to turn into apple sauce.
Nov '10
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
"Ultimately, it shows one thing: liberalism only works if everyone follows the orders of the hierarchy."
My vote for the best analysis of the week.
I will add that one other reason contributing to the equality and camaraderie many experience within the military is that upon entry they are largely stripped of the entitlements and/or victim status they could claim in the civilian world. Everyone starts from square one (at least to a greater degree than as civilians) and earns their way from there. Excuses for the inability to succeed that would be embraced in the outside world are generally dismissed within the armed forces.
Edited on Jun 16, 2011 at 3:24pmJun '10
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
KC Mulville:
Ultimately, it shows one thing: liberalism only works if everyone follows the orders of the hierarchy. · Jun 16 at 12:52pm
To add a little bit to your excellent analysis, I'd like to trot out this old chestnut: Socialism's great until you run out of other people's money! And don't mind that whole loss of freedom thing, of course.
Where does Kristof think the money to fund all this stuff comes from? The active component of our armed forces makes up about 1.5 million people, with another 700K in the Reserves/National Guard. Healthcare for the active folks on Tricare Prime is zero cost, and pretty minimal cost for those on Tricare Reserve Select. That's a lot of people paying nothing or close to it for their medical, for a projected cost next year of $52.5 billion. Almost $24K per servicemember, per year. Kristof evidently didn't read this from NPR last week. Or this. Or this from two years ago.
Tom Donnelly has a pretty good rebuttal of Kristof over at AEI.
Mar '11
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
Crow's Nest: ...
For an entire nation to experience this, it would have to be militarized. That is, it would not be democratic or liberal. It would be a regime, like Sparta, dedicated to one virtue. ... · Jun 16 at 1:28pm
I doubt that militarisation of a society would allow this experience to be broadened to a national level. In the modern US and Australian forces, recruitment is voluntary. Their members are people who have chosen to potentially sacrifice their mortal bodies for the higher purpose for which these forces exist. They are very special people for that reason.
The system would rapidly fail if it were extended over the population at large.
Feb '11
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
Diane Ellis, Ed.
Kristof (and Krugman) columns routinely fall into the category of post fodder which we call low-hanging fruit. Ripe for the pickin' and easy to turn into apple sauce. · Jun 16 at 3:16pm
Fortunately, it is part of your job to do so, so the rest of us don't have to.
Mar '11
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
Stephen:
I completely agree. Militarizing 300 million people isn't possible.
Moreover, Kristoff follows a long line of progressive thinkers in believing that the ethos and conditions of warfare can be applied to other concepts like poverty.
My post wasn't addressing the practical problem. It was a though experiment meant to demonstrate that, by unmooring military culture from an ethos and from conditions of warfare, you don't end up with the kind of society Kristoff praises. If you keep the ethos and conditions of warfare, then the entire society would logically have to be militarized--but that this contradicts so many other liberal positions as to be logically untenable.
Oct '10
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
Ah. . .the military is a solidarity-based hierarchal, based on combat. I'm surprised any lefty would espouse such an intense, authoritarian, hierarchal system for society (the hierarchal part is the bit I'm surprised with, American lefties always seem to associate that with ultraconservatism for some reason).
I mean, it's not like all Americans have to face death on a regular basis, fighting and dying for other people in very difficult, demanding circumstances. What, is Kristof suggestion we start another world war, so build social solidarity (like happened after WWII)?
May '11
Re: Nick Kristof: Let's All Go Work for the Government!
Kristof, of course, misses the salient point about why the military outperforms virtually all government institutions: there's no soldier's union !