"contribute or die" ... That's the opinion of a radical socialist (Soviet Union's system).
Now ... I agree with the underlying idea: "we, as a society, need to take care of each other". But I'm a communist, not a socialist. In my opinion, we need no government to lead us, and we certainly don't need people to be murdered, if they don't contribute.
I want the above idea in its literal sense: Take. Care. Of. Each. Other.
If someone can't contribute, help them. If someone doesn't want to contribute, so be it, but they won't be helped either. And those who do contribute live in a collective that actually works.
Now ... The problem with that is simple: Humans don't want to help others, unless they benefit from it. If one person believes they contribute more than the others, greed kicks in and they want a bigger share.
Without cutting this ridiculous bullshit from people's minds (not by force), this won't change ...
Soooo ... to sum it up: Your idea of the army, life a hundred years ago is wrong, and your impression of what the civilization needs is ... definitely not something I support in that form.
(Disclaimer for those across the pond failing at socialism/communism, I'm sticking to the European where communism is the ideal of society supporting each other and living in a well-functioning collective, while socialism is the implementation through governmentally imposed equalism.)