A few years ago, M.O.D. bods (or was it MI5) and their US equivalents proclaimed climate change to be the No.1 threat to mankind and national interests – above even terrorism.

If we’re going to take this model of free-market Darwinisn to its true logical end, can we expect the Govt to implement a similar offering next time an enemy sits on the shore of Dunkirk?

It might go like this: Govt politely asks citizens to pop along to, say, their nearest licenced Post Office which have special arrangements to stock the latest in military hardware.

By filling out a few forms, Joe Bloggs can walk out with all he can carry and simply attach the loan needed for his patriotic purchase to his home; not himself – after all, he might not come back. Easy.

Then, using a train comparison site, he can book his ticket to Dover and pick up a nice deal on a ferry to his France destination.

Is this how we now tackle catastrophic threats? By socially engineering a consumer-driven war employing the dynamics of credit-based market-forces?

Substitute “attack and defence” with “supply and demand” – the similarities are there I guess.

The ideological strategy behind this “green loan” move to combat climate change – #1 threat to mankind, remember – is, at best, an experiment with no precedent, using unproven technologies.