“I wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life. But I wanted it to use the kind of characters we’ve all met in real life,”
The soldiers too. You can be spared the horrors or having to compete at the cost of losing your humanity and becoming a soulless automaton. One step out of line and you're also disposable.