Earlier today, the government floated the notion of conscription, in the wake of growing hostilities between the West and Russia, and the increasingly unstable situation in the Middle East.

Conscription is the practice of effectively forcing people to sign up for the armed forces, or to give it its official definition, ‘the state-mandated enlistment of people into a national service, mainly a military service’. I am not particularly in favour of conscription, because I’d probably be one of those called upon (mind you, the military would have to be desperate to call me up), and because in the event of WWIII, it would be pointless. A global war will swiftly become a nuclear war, and I’d rather spend my final days with my loved ones, rather than fighting on behalf of some rich fat cat (who is safe and sound in a bunker) over scraps of radioactive wasteland.

The heightened prospect of a serious conflict has coincided with a guaranteed election year in the USA, and a highly likely election year in the UK. The cynical meerkat in me has to wonder if this is when governments that are on shaky ground seek to tap into patriotism in the form of war, to shore up their positions. The Tories are looking at a thrashing, but surely they would not actively court war, to save their skins?

Surely?

To return to an earlier point, all of this would be of no benefit to anyone. In the unlikely event a global conflict does not turn nuclear, you can bet that the only beneficiaries will be those in positions of wealth and power, and you can bet those who are wealthy and powerful will not put forward their loved ones for military service. The draft will impact the poorest first, and it certainly won’t benefit them.