Question

Sandel argues that both utilitarian and libertarian principles seem to suggest that a volunteer army is the best way to allocate military service.

a.true
b.false

Answer 1

False. While utilitarian principles might suggest a volunteer army is optimal as it could result in the greatest good for the greatest number, libertarian principles would support a volunteer army to avoid state compulsion and protect individual freedoms, not necessarily for utilitarian reasons.

Step-by-step explanation:

False. Michael Sandel discusses utilitarian and libertarian principles in the context of justice and society’s organization. Utilitarianism, as devised by thinkers like Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, advocates for actions that generate the greatest good for the greatest number, which could support a volunteer army on the basis that it maximizes overall happiness and utility. However, libertarianism, which focuses on maximizing individual freedom and minimizing the role of the state, could suggest a volunteer army as well, but primarily because it aligns with the principle of non-compulsion and minimal state intervention rather than utilitarian cost-benefit analysis.

Libertarian principles reject the notion that individual rights should be violated for greater social utility, and therefore, a conscripted army would be antithetical to libertarian thought. Hence, while libertarians might advocate for a volunteer army, it is because it does not violate individual freedom, not because it necessarily provides the greatest good for the greatest number.