There are several countries with a Mandatory Military Service. Some of the terms are fairly short with a requirement of only 6 months.

Take that concept and apply it to service industry work.

Imagine if everyone in society had to have at least one retail or food service job before they were issued a driver’s license or allowed to be employed in another job. Even wealthy people would be required to do this with no loopholes or ways to buy their way out of it.

I think this would teach empathy for many. Of course, there would always be some who would not learn anything but it would definitely change some people.

Also, some judges are already doing this as punishment for bad behavior.

Judge Orders Woman to Work In Fast Food Restaurant After She Threw Burrito Bowl In an Ohio Chipotle Employee’s Face

  • asmoranomar@lemmy.world
    7·
    6 months ago

    No. The fallacy is believing that the stories of military service will straighten people right up is flawed. Certainly it has the potential to do that, but you ignore:

    1. Most people already know empathy before joining.
    2. The worst of the worst get kicked out.
    3. Lessons will stick after the fact.

    What you get is survivorship bias. Of course the people who aren’t getting entry level discharged or dishonorable discharge have the qualities needed to have or learn empathy, following orders and working as a team.

    Fact is, military isn’t a perfect fit for everyone, and forcing people to do so runs against cohesiveness, morale and effectiveness. It should only be used in the most dire of situations.

    Mirroring this onto service industries wouldn’t be effective at all for the people that need it. I would argue it would make it worse, as these people would see it more of a punishment than a lesson, and only serve to drag down and consume resources for the vast majority of individuals who don’t need the lessons.