Honestly, nowadays I think that conscription should be seen more like an education on how to defend yourself within the organized structures of the state, and maybe should also be implemented more in those lines. And such is necessary nowadays. I didn’t have to go and since I had my plans made I also didn’t but I have been considering to maybe look whether I can still at least learn a lite version of it. How many conscripted were forced to fight in the last decades? The first to go, and the only ones since probably the second world war (in germany), is the professional army, no conscripted is forced. Of course once we are in a true conflict to the point that the professional army isn’t sufficient anymore this starts to change, but then it would change for you regardless of whether you have trained the basics or not, and then I would prefer knowing what I do and how to do it, whether I have to or want to defend the society, friends, family etc. in an organized structure or not.
That is the difference between an wartime economy of generally cheaper labor (east Europe) oriented primarily to provide resources for war, greatly (although not sufficiently in my opinion) supported and backed by the European Union and a slow bureaucratic economy known to be inefficient, time wise and monetary wise, economy. We hope that the European Union keeps together. And we certainly dont want to be forced to fight a war the way like Ukraine has to. No question Europe (if it stays united and doesn’t slowly bleed states to Russia’s control) would win a conventional conflict but the questions are at what cost? I rather win such a war in weeks than months, rather in months than years, and preferably with less missiles landing in my neighborhood.