The Santa Claus of Peace.

Why Middle East Peace Remains a Fantasy in the Age of Arms Trade Billionaires.

Oct 04, 2025

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a deeply rooted and painful reality. The hope that it will one day end in a lasting peace has become a comforting fantasy, much like a child’s belief in Santa Claus. We cling to the idea of a magical solution, but the truth is far more cynical: you want to see him, but you never will. This wish for Middle East peace is a myth we tell ourselves to make the world feel a little more manageable.

The Playground of Power.

Sure, it’s a simplistic argument to suggest this conflict is just a playground quarrel, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Ultimately, this isn’t about peace at all; it’s about power and control. It’s a primal playground argument, just on a global scale. We see it in the endless bickering over who has the better claim to history or land. “Mine is better than yours,” one side shouts. “No, it isn’t, my claim is bigger than yours,” responds the other. This childish hostility, fuelled by a deep-seated need for dominance, makes the dream of peace feel more elusive than ever.

The story of Cain and Abel, for those who believe, is a powerful and sombre reminder that the core of our conflicts, from ancient times to today, hasn’t changed. In the Book of Genesis, a simple disagreement over whose offering was more favoured by God spiralled into the first act of sibling rivalry and murder. It wasn’t about a grand ideological or religious divide; it was about jealousy, perceived injustice, and a struggle for superiority.

The Adults Who Know Better.

While some people hold onto the fantasy of peace, the “adults in the room” know the truth. They understand the conflict is about power and that there is no magical fix. These leaders, politicians, and religious hardliners often pay lip service to peace while using the very idea of it to their advantage. They perpetuate the Santa Claus myth, knowing that as long as people believe in a peaceful fantasy, they won’t question the real-world power struggles that fuel the conflict.

As Friedrich Nietzsche said, “Hope, in reality, is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.” In this context, hope for a simple, magical peace only serves to distract from the hard work of confronting the underlying issues. So, who and where are the real adults, and do they even exist in 2025? In an age where the traditional markers of adulthood have been blurred, the “real adults” are those with a clear-eyed, cynical view of the world as a place of power and control. They are the ones who manage the levers of the multi-trillion-pound arms industry and manipulate the playground argument for their own benefit.

A true “real adult” is a rare breed—someone who is not only aware of the cynical realities of power but also chooses to work against them. They acknowledge the lack of a magical solution while still striving for a better outcome. The Dalai Lama is a prime example of such a figure. His philosophy, rooted in compassion and non-violence, stands in stark contrast to the global playground dynamic. He views conflict not as an opportunity for dominance, but as a challenge to be met with understanding and empathy. The fact that he is pilloried and exiled from his home only strengthens the point that those who pursue unselfish, compassionate solutions are often marginalised by the very “adults” who profit from perpetual conflict.

The Escalation from Words to Weapons.

The process of conflict hasn’t changed in thousands of years. It starts with a verbal skirmish, with words becoming weapons that grow exponentially into violence. The first step is dehumanisation, using insults and slurs to portray a group as less than human. This breaks down the psychological barriers to violence, making it easier to harm others. These hateful words spread and amplify, becoming a justification for physical action. It’s the same pattern that led to the first murder between Cain and Abel, and it continues to be the driving force behind modern conflicts. The only difference is that today, the speed and reach of communication turn a localised argument into a global firestorm.

Words are still used as weapons, but now they are emblazoned on flags, banners, and placards. They are shared on social media, in closed groups and public forums. They are woven into religious misinterpretations, governmental edicts, and political speeches. You can hear them in our schools, colleges, and universities, and in our everyday spoken language. This relentless barrage of verbal conflict serves to maintain the hostility and keep the playground argument alive.

This hostile rhetoric now results in violence on our streets. The Manchester synagogue terror attack in October 2025—where two Jewish worshippers were killed and three others seriously injured in a car ramming and stabbing attack outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue during Yom Kippur[1][2][3]—these aren’t random acts. They are the latest chapter in the same ancient story, a direct result of words that have been weaponised. UK antisemitic attacks have surged dramatically, with over 1,500 incidents recorded in the first six months of 2025 alone[4]. And yet, here we are again, another weekend of UK Palestine protests in Britain. More words on banners and placards. More hostile shouting[5][6]. And suddenly, we are back at that metaphorical playground. The question is, what do these protests actually achieve? Little, apart from a bunch of people turning out to feel good about themselves. The spectacle of these highly visible, and often disruptive demonstrations serves primarily as a space for people to feel righteous, but they fail to shift the fundamental power dynamics at play.

The UK terrorism charges against Palestine protesters have revealed the extent of government crackdown—over 850 people arrested in August and September 2025 simply for holding signs supporting Palestine Action, including a 74-year-old man arrested three times for peacefully sitting with a placard[7][8].

The Corrupting Power of Money.

This ancient struggle has also evolved from slingshots and stones to a multi-trillion-pound arms industry. The desire for a more effective weapon drove innovation, creating a cycle where conflict fuels technology and technology fuels conflict. Proponents of the defense industry profits argue it provides jobs and national security, but these are often illusory benefits. Ultimately, this industry benefits no one except those who fund it—the corporations and individuals who profit from selling the very tools of destruction. They lobby governments for military spending, which in turn fuels the conflicts that create demand for more weapons. The playground argument, which began with simple tools, continues to be fought with ever more deadly and expensive ones, ensuring the cycle of hostility and profit never ends.

As Lord Acton famously said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This quote perfectly encapsulates the corrupting force of money in the modern world. Money is a form of power—a global, impersonal power that influences politics, fuels conflicts, and shapes societies. The more money and control a corporation or individual has, the more “absolute” that power becomes, leading to absolute corruption. You only have to take a look at the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires rankings to see this principle in action on a global scale[9][10].

And who are the modern-day Santa Claus figures of this global arms racket? They are the very same arms trade billionaires who top those lists. The connections are stark: men like Peter Thiel, who provides Palantir government surveillance software for military and intelligence agencies. Palantir military contracts have secured hundreds of millions in Pentagon deals, with the company’s stock surging over 200% since Trump’s election[11][12][13]. Palantir’s AI technology has even been used by Israeli forces in targeting programs during the Gaza war of 2025[14]. Meanwhile, Palmer Luckey's Anduril defense startup, which turned his VR expertise into autonomous weapons systems, has secured more than $6 billion in global military contractor deals by the end of 2025[15][16]. Anduril recently won the $22 billion U.S. Army augmented reality headset contract[17]. And Elon Musk’s SpaceX, a key military contractor with sensitive Pentagon contracts for spy satellites, has even taken money from Chinese investors—newly unsealed court testimony from October 2025 revealed that SpaceX's Chinese investment came directly from Chinese shareholders, raising serious national security concerns[18][19][20]. These figures are not just providing tools for war; they are actively shaping modern conflict, all while their immense wealth grows.

Ultimately, money is the power that glues the world together, that no amount of placards and banners, no matter how well-meaning, can beat. And so, out of frustration, human emotion turns to violence, which still isn’t the answer, as Cain and Abel ultimately discovered. Again, metaphorically speaking, this is a game of Monopoly on a global scale, where we go back and forth, and if we’re unlucky, we go to jail.

Gaza: A Toy Nobody Wins.

Gaza has become the metaphorical toy between two children, where one wants to take what they believe belongs to the other in a ‘If I can’t have it, you can’t either’ argument. The vicious playground dynamic ensures that in the end, nobody truly wins. The toy—the land and the people on it—is the real victim. The value of the prize is destroyed in the act of fighting for it, making the entire struggle a pointless and tragic exercise. As long as this “toy” is viewed as a mere object of spite, the cycle of violence will continue.

And so, we are left to witness the fruitlessness of our collective efforts. As another weekend passes in Britain, with thousands taking to the streets, we are reminded that no amount of hostile shouting, no matter how sincere, can change a game rigged by the powerful and fuelled by money. We are caught in a repetitive, generational conflict that has its roots in our primal nature, made infinitely more deadly by modern technology and the corrupting power of wealth. The signs we carry and the words we shout are little more than futile gestures in a global game of Monopoly, played by cynical billionaires who will always land on Park Lane while the rest of us go directly to jail.

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