There is a rather strong paradox visible in the case of the modern army. Military service is one of the most demanding jobs a European or American can undertake. It involves gruelling physical strain, strict control over personal life in military barracks, isolation from friends and family, insane work hours and often humiliating obedience to the orders of drill sergeants. While one could maybe find an outlier example, such as underwater welding or fishing on the arctic seas that surpass their strain, almost no jobs on the market even come close in their gruelling difficulty to the profession of soldiers.

Most young men would, of course, be happy to suffer through all that given the right price. If the money was good enough, then men would abandon the cushy office jobs and, following the howl of Uncle Sam, happily fill the barracks to serve their country. Here comes the paradox, however: that price is never offered, and yet the barracks are filled to the brink!