[snowman]

You do not give the soldier substandard care, but good care. The member of society, eg the president of the US gets the ultimate in care, care that it is not possible to give to everyone, because it is impossible to devote that many resources to everyone. Why? because he is worth 100,000 soldiers to society because of his great skills. The soldier cannot replace the president, but the president can replace the soldier, many times over.

In the case of a president is is clear who is worth more, but as you go down the food chain it gets less and less clear. No human can pick and choose the most valuable people, but economics can. Its not perfect, but it is much more reliable than some committee.

Do you want some loser that cannot even feed himself defending you or someone that can lead 1000 able bodied troupes into combat and win?