‘War? What is it good for?’ asks the iconic Edwin Starr song from the Vietnam era. The answer comes back, ‘Absolutely nothing.’ If you asked most people whether they agree they would probably say yes.

Recent opinion polls whether Britain should have bombed Syria in response to the chemical weapons attack on Douma suggest only 20 per cent of us think it was appropriate. After all, going to war should be the very, very last resort after strenuous diplomacy has failed. Something you only contemplate when there is literally no alternative.

Why then do our politicians seem to love war so much? Just think how many armed conflicts we have got embroiled in over the last few decades. Iraq (twice), Libya, Afghanistan, not to mention Syria.

The answer, of course, is that while war might not be good for us ‘little’ people, it can be tremendously useful to the elite who rule over us.

Take politicians. In fact, why not take Theresa May herself. This is a Prime Minister who called a snap election mid-term in 2017 and promptly lost her majority. Anyone with the slightest interest in political affairs can see her government’s grip on power is slipping month by month. Vital public services like education and the NHS are in meltdown, austerity has blatantly failed to stabilise the economy, millions of UK citizens are living in poverty. To add to Mrs May’s woes, Brexit threatens to tear the Conservative Party apart.

What could be handier than diverting our attention with a nice little military adventure far away? It not only creates the illusion that the government, and indeed the UK, are ‘strong’, but it suggests we are still a global superpower. In short, that Britannia still rules the waves (we don’t, by the way, the Royal Navy is now tiny). What’s not to like, from a certain conservative-thinking standpoint?

In addition, a bit of bombing can even be used to gain moral credibility. Only psychopaths or deeply callous individuals are not disgusted by chemical weapons killing innocent civilians, especially children. All decent folk would agree with that.

Why then does the government turn a blind eye to the effects of UK weapon sales to the Saudi dictatorship? Is bombing somehow a more ‘humane’ or acceptable a way to kill children and create a manmade famine than the use of chemical weapons? But that is precisely what is happening every day in Yemen. We in the UK are actively enabling and encouraging the humanitarian disaster in Yemen in order to make money through arms sales.

Which brings us to the other thing war is good for. It is very, very good for businessmen who aren’t squeamish about a little fresh blood on their profit margins. Look at the statistics. Since the last election, UK arms manufacturers have exported almost £5bn worth of weapons to countries that are judged to have repressive regimes. In fact, Campaign Against the Arms Trade has found that of the 49 countries that are classed as “not free” by Freedom House, an independent organisation that promotes democracy, 36 have bought British-made weapons in that period.

The usual argument for supporting this morally dubious trade is that selling weapons is good for jobs. After all, the weapons industry employs more than 55,000 people. However, is it really unimaginable that those same highly skilled engineers and specialists could not be set to work on more useful projects? How about manufacturing renewable energy equipment like wind farms or solar panels, for example?

The real answer to horrendous conflicts like the Syrian Civil War must come through patient diplomacy and international law. We must never, ever lose faith in the UN as the arbitrator of world peace. The Chilcot enquiry proved in the starkest terms what happens when states like the UK and USA illegally attack Middle Eastern countries. The consequences have been disastrous for the world and the region.

The reality is that all wars end with a negotiated settlement. Why not seek the settlement before the conflict, rather than the other way round? As the Edwin Starr song points out: ‘Lord knows there’s got to be a better way.’