The Moral Equivalent of War: A Study of Non-Military Service in Nine Nations

(Hardback)

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This book studies the non-military national service programmes in nine countries: Canada, China, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Nigeria, the United States, and West Germany. Incorporating the efforts of five contributing authors and the support of many individuals and organizations all over the world, this volume not only provides a reference in comparing national service programs but also explores the multiple outcomes of national service programs on many levels including social, economic, and individual. Although, as this comparative study shows, countries far less affluent than the United States have found it worthwhile to invest in national service, it also shows that the functional success of such a program depends to a certain extent on the balance of benefit and cost. The book addresses various forms of compensation to participating individuals, (eg, wage, room and board, credit toward a college education), as well as the possibility that such compensation conflicts with the idea of service, and instead becomes a source of employment. At this time when the idea of national service is gaining support in the United States, these and other issues addressed in the book are especially critical. In addition to the nine chapters that are devoted to the nine countries included in this study, there is a chapter on policy and programme characteristics and one on comparing and understanding non-military service in different nations. A final chapter casts a thoughtful eye to development of a national service policy in the United States.

Reviews

"At a time when new attention is being focused on national service, it is important to base policy development on the best existing knowledge. Eberly and Sharraden have performed a valuable service in collecting experience on non-military service in nine nations; it will be an essential document for developing our own ideas of what we should do here in the United States."- Donald Kennedy, President Stanford University
"Eberly and Sherraden's thoughtful examination of non-military service in other nations sheds important new light on the current debate in the United States, revealing both possibilities and potential pitfalls to guide the development of a uniquely American approach to national service in the 1990s and beyond."- Marian Wright Edelman, President Children's Defense Fund
"I used to think that the G. I. Bill for veterans of World War II was the greatest bill ever passed in the Congress. Now I think that right there with it is the bill creating the Peace Corps. This book retells the story of the Peace Corps and other programs of nonmilitary service in countries such as Nigeria, China, West Germany, Israel, and Mexico. Read it with great inspiration."- Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh President Emeritus University of Notre Dame
"This is a thoughtful comparative study of national youth service programs. The book is rich with information and lessons for the course of national service in the United States."-Bill Bradley U. S. Senator

Author Bio

DONALD EBERLY is Executive Director of the National Service Secretariat in Washington, D.C. He is the author of National Service: A Promise to Keep. MICHAEL SHERRADEN is Associate Professor of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. He and Mr. Eberly have edited National Service: Social, Economic, and Military Impacts.