It never ceases to amaze me when I listen to our political elite in the so called developed world lecture the poor on austerity.
Take this excellent article, it could be a review of a new theatre interpretation of Animal Farm.
At a state banquet for the new Lord Mayor on Monday, David Cameron gave a speech about his commitment to the cause of permanent austerity. He stood up to speak from a golden chair, and read his notes from a golden lectern.
The guests enjoyed a champagne reception, and then were served a starter ("a celebration of British mushrooms"), a fish course and main course of fillet of beef, all served with wine of course. In the break before dessert, coffee, dessert wine, port, brandy and whisky were served,
Most of us were exhausted by this point. Dinner service is physically demanding, and I am by no means the only person who combines two or three jobs. The contrast of the two worlds was striking; someone said it was like a scene from Downton Abbey.
It is no wonder the extreme right are rejoicing and playing the populist card to the hilt.
It's hard to imagine that a speech writer could ignore the setting, it's hard to imagine that any politician couldn't see the problem here.
However for some time I have been watching both left and right mainstream parties throughout the West make the same faux pas.
Everyone with at least half open eyes sees the yawning chasm of economic inequality spiraling ever higher.
Lectures about austerity that hurt the poorest most from golden thrones is really bad PR, and shows a complete disconnect with the reality of its effects.
In fact it reeks of Ayn Randian philosophy and privilege with Orwellian overtures.
Let them eat cake.
I could have thrown around a great many obscenities, I was austere in that respect.