Soldiers can’t just pack up and leave – they have to wait until their hitch is over, at least. Even then, they can be reactivated. A veteran friend tells me it’s not unheard of for soldiers to retire after a tour in Iraq, join a PMC, return to Iraq at ten times the pay, then get reactivated, return home, and return again to Iraq as a soldier. If you don’t think soldiers are constrained, google “stop loss”.

Sure, cops can join private security companies, but then they’re no longer cops. They don’t have arrest powers and similar other privileges and responsibilities that go with that job. If you want to be a cop, you have to work for the government.

I don’t know of any private firefighting companies. You would think that if the market was efficient at providing this sort of service, there’d be at least one of them in my neighborhood.

Lawyers are on the far end of that spectrum, but they are also nominally expected to work in the public interest. I am not interested in lawyers’ social contribution, except to say that I think doctors fall somewhere between soldiers and lawyers on this spectrum.

*edited to add “not”

“First, are there other professionals who don’t have exclusive control over the services they provide? There are: soldiers, lawyers, educators, police officers, firefighters . . .”

I was wondering if you could elaborate on this. I am aware that soldiers can leave the military and join private military contractors. Lawyers are not forced to serve the judicial system as a public lawyer; they choose to do so because of their personal desire. Educators are not forced to work for a public school system; they can work for private schools or as private tutors. Police officers are able to, and often do, work for private security companies. Firefighters can work for private companies.

It appears that none of the professions you outlined are considered rights by citizens, primarily because any member of that profession can choose to do something other than a public service.

Please elaborate on your position.