When Politics are no Longer Political

The Cult of Greed and Hate: A Modern Political Love Story
Once upon a time, politics pretended to be about ideas. There were dusty debates in Parliament, pipe smoke in the air, and at least the faint aroma of a principle lurking under the wigs and waistcoats. Today, however, we find ourselves ruled not by reasoned thought but by extremes — shrieking, stomping, slogan-chanting extremes — powered by two eternal forces: Greed and Hate.
And what a charming couple they make.

Chapter I: Greed in a Gilded Carriage

Greed is the older, smoother half of the pair. He strolls into politics with a champagne flute in one hand and a banker’s ledger in the other.

His voice is soothing: “Deregulation, my friends, means prosperity. Tax cuts for the rich will eventually dribble down to you — do be patient, peasantry.”

Chapter II: Hate in Jackboots
Hate, meanwhile, doesn’t bother with champagne. She arrives with a megaphone, barking slogans short enough to fit on a billboard. She doesn’t need detail — she needs only enemies.
Hate’s repertoire is simple and devastatingly effective:
Scapegoating: Immigrants, minorities, unions, the EU, bicycles, wind turbines — any target will do, so long as it isn’t the landlord raising your rent.
Fearmongering: Every problem is framed as an invasion, a plot, or a threat. “They are coming to take your job, your house, your way of life.”
Identity Cults: Flags, anthems, slogans, all rolled out with the subtlety of a marching band in your living room.
Where Greed whispers in the drawing room, Hate shouts in the marketplace. Together, they cover the entire audience.

Chapter III: The Happy Marriage of Greed and Hate
Alone, each is dangerous. Together, they are unstoppable. Greed requires Hate to keep the masses distracted while he empties the treasury; Hate requires Greed to bankroll her rallies and manufacture her megaphones.
It is a partnership as old as politics itself:
The plantation owner needed the racial hierarchy to justify his profit.
The robber baron needed the strike-breaker to keep wages low.
The modern oligarch needs the xenophobic billboard to deflect attention from offshore bank accounts.
Thus, we arrive at the present day: a political landscape where billionaires warn you about “scroungers,” and the government cuts school budgets while announcing billions in military hardware with a straight face.

Greed’s favourite tricks:

Privatisation: Sell the nation’s assets to friends at a discount, then rent them back to the public at triple the cost.
Deregulation: Replace “worker protections” with “flexibility” and “environmental safeguards” with “optional guidelines.”
The Holy Market: Preach the Gospel of Invisible Hands while pocketing very visible lobbyist cheques.

In Greed’s theatre, the billionaire is cast as the hero entrepreneur, while the citizen is merely background scenery — ideally in uniform grey, preferably silent.

Chapter IV: The Theatre of Extremes
This great performance is staged with meticulous care:
The Media Chorus: Papers owned by Greed’s cousins publish Hate’s speeches as if they were holy scripture.
The Political Puppets: MPs rise in Parliament to echo whatever line the donors and demagogues have agreed upon this week.
The Citizens: Some boo, some cheer, but most are too busy working three jobs to notice they’re being cast as extras in their own tragedy.

Epilogue: How the Story Ends
We are told extremes are born of “public anger.” Yet anger rarely comes from nowhere. It is cultivated — nurtured by those who profit from confusion. Greed and Hate, arm in arm, whisper: “Look over there, not up here.”
The danger is not that we cannot recognise them. The danger is that we grow so used to them we no longer care.
When history writes its verdict, it will not say we lacked warnings. It will say we allowed ourselves to be ruled by a marriage of convenience: a union of avarice and loathing, consecrated by apathy.

SOL News Closing Proclamation:
Beware, citizens: when Greed and Hate take the throne, democracy itself becomes a sideshow attraction — tickets available at the usual inflated price.