The turmoil currently gripping our society is neither accidental, nor inevitable. It is the direct consequence of corrupted and corrupting groups and individuals holding power and authority. When those entrusted with governance prioritise self-interest and party politics over public welfare, the damage extends far beyond financial mismanagement or policy failure. It creates a pervasive climate of negligence that systematically warps the collective character of the nation.

To understand how a population falls into a state of hostility, one need only look at the psychological dynamics of a broken household. In developmental psychology, John Bowlby’s attachment theory demonstrates that human beings rely on protective authority figures to maintain a fundamental sense of safety, order, and trust. In a healthy family, parents earn authority through honesty, emotional consistency, and genuine care. If a parent habitually lies, ignores the basic needs of the children, and abuses their position, the household loses its foundation. Realising they cannot rely on the figure meant to protect them, the children enter a permanent state of hyper-vigilance. Deprived of a trustworthy authority, they stop respecting house rules and turn to defensive hostility and total selfreliance simply to survive.

A nation experiences this exact dynamic on a collective scale. As the sociologist Jürgen Habermas observed in his concept of the legitimation crisis, a state cannot rule by administrative power alone; its stability depends entirely on moral legitimacy and public trust. Yet politicians of all colours and leaders across key institutions display a profound indifference to the basic needs of ordinary people. Whether through deliberate neglect or complete detachment, this apathy represents a devastating form of aggression. Aggression does not always manifest as overt violence; it can just as easily take the form of systemic neglect. When citizens are left to struggle for essential services, economic stability, and basic fairness, the state commits a silent, ongoing assault on their well-being.

When political leaders resort to spin, denial, and outright falsehoods to cover up this institutional failure, they force the public into a damaging form of cognitive dissonance. Citizens are told that the system is functioning while watching their everyday reality erode. This persistent deceit inflicts a state of muted, aggressive mental distress – a quiet, simmering rage born from feeling continually victimised and ignored without any official avenue for redress.

When deceit becomes standard practice, the state suffers a total loss of moral legitimacy. People cease to view the legal and political system as a neutral arbiter of justice, seeing it instead as a shield used by the powerful to protect their own interests. Just as a neglected child rejects the rules of a dysfunctional home, a betrayed populace naturally turns away from compromised institutions. Deprived of honest governance, the public psyche hardens into an aggressive, vigilante mindset. Hostility, cynicism, and informal defiance take over as people conclude that self-reliance is the only remaining defence against a dishonest and predatory authority.

Ultimately, corrupt governance does not simply mismanage a country; it destroys the social trust required for a peaceful civilisation. When a state rules through neglect and deceit, it transforms a law-abiding citizenry into a hostile, defensive collective, forced to protect itself from the very institutions built to serve it.