I don't understand ANY argument for conscription. Of all the laws on the books that are still "acceptable" in modernity from even the "progressive" crowd, the one that perplexes me the most is conscription.
For me, it's just so simple: If a government needs to force people to fight for the government then the government has no right to exist. A legitimate government should be able to raise a fully volunteer army because all the citizens the government represents wants to fight to defend this government.
Just think about it for a moment. Supposedly some evil enemy is coming to rape your women and kill all the men or enslave everyone by taking their rights away. Everyone should want to defend against that, no? If someone doesn't volunteer to fight against that then clearly they've decided that rape and death is better than... rape and death? Or, perhaps they've decided they can still live without dying for a country and they'd rather this conclusion.
How can anyone justify using force to force something to go to war and die against their will?
I hate the concept of conscription so much I think anyone who suggests it should be hanged, tbh. You want people to fight for you? Offer them an incentive then.
My arguments for conscription are that its upside down, and people are shit. Older generations that got to enjoy peace and prosperity, and hold all the power, sending their 20 year old sons to die for a nation that hates them is obviously wrong. In this case its the older generation that must be forced at gunpoint to do the right thing by their kids and grandkids. The closest thing I can think of for this sort of army is the older people that volunteered to clean up radioactive disasters. I advocate for adultery laws because I know too many people should be forced to do the right thing. What incentive does a crying toddler have to offer their parent that outweighs having fun at the bar? Its also strange to think about but with declining birth rates and test levels its possible that a force of a modern nation's 40 year olds would be larger and stronger than a force of its 20 year olds, but that's also how the 20 year olds all get thrown in vans.