The Four Modern Horsemen: Greed, Capitalism, Hierarchy, and Technology

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have transformed. In our world today, they no longer symbolize war, famine, death, and conquest in their ancient forms. Instead, they ride under new banners—Greed, Capitalism, Hierarchy, and Technology—and they’re dragging us toward oblivion.

Each horseman is driven by a rider, twisted by power, manipulation, and delusion.

Greed is ridden by the sadists, who take pleasure in the suffering of others, consuming all resources and feeding the endless void of their insatiable desires.

Capitalism is the chariot of the Machiavellians, those who craft deceptions and justifications for exploiting others, justifying cruelty and inequality as necessary steps in the ladder of success.

Hierarchy is ridden by the sociopaths, who thrive on control and dominance, constructing systems that stratify and suffocate the soul, preserving power for the few at the expense of the many.

And finally, Technology, the shining promise of progress, is steered by the narcissists, drunk on their own reflection, believing themselves gods as they shape our digital cages.

These ideologies aren’t new. They’ve been repackaged through the ages, their true nature disguised, always promising salvation while delivering suffering. The delusions are powerful: that endless accumulation leads to happiness, that capitalism is freedom, that hierarchical power is natural, and that technology will save us. All lies. We’ve heard this story before—it’s the same cycle of control, exploitation, and destruction played on repeat through the millennia.

So here we are, tethered to these horsemen, riding into environmental collapse, widening inequality, and social decay. The riders promise progress, but the path leads to oblivion.

The question is—are we going to unhook ourselves from the reins before it’s too late?