Notebook: The Rice Soldier

Even the least popular regimes in Asia find men to join their armies. These men are the rice soldiers.

They are not soldiers in the usual sense, no matter how much they may look like soldiers and no matter how impressive they may be on parade. No armies are as finicky about proper uniforms and military deportment as those with an uneasy desire to substitute the rituals of an armed force ready to fight on command for the intangible bonds of common loyalty that make such readiness possib...