Politics · 11 · Haggai
Conscription versus volunteerism
Sociologists distinguish them: kings and states conscript bodies and resources; communities and nations volunteer them.
A nation exists when people choose to act together.
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Solomon's temple was built by forced labor; the tabernacle by willing gifts. After defeat, Judah could become the volunteer nation of its imagined past.
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 173–174
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