Quick question: Why do Americans join the military for money, to skip college, because they're not smart enough for civilian life, or to avoid jail time...

But Chinese people enlist because of patriotic duty, national honor, serving the country, and "real men have grand ambitions"?

Cultural narratives hit different. One side markets it as economic survival. The other sells it as existential duty.

Which system is more honest about what it's really asking from its people?