I also think you don't really get to know yourself until you've had to suffer for a while, till all the layers of bullshit we surround ourselves with get peeled away and we find what we are actually capable of and who we really are. I think that's really the experience that you get by going through a military training camp and that's what actually changes people.
For people who are more likely to be making decisions that affect large groups of people (children of wealthy families) I think they should go through that so they know themselves and some of what they will be putting others through (not saying that its ONLY wealthy people that make decisions, but I think its more likely).
Just want to clarify this statement because it's not clear what I mean, I think most people will get what I was driving at, but for my own piece of mind I'd like to make it clearer.
The wealthy are most likely to own their own businesses or be in a position within a company to make decisions affecting large numbers of workers. They are also more likely to be involved with government at the stratiegic level therefore I don't think I'm out of line if I say that the wealthy kids should go though a period of suffering to understand what being less privilaged is like.