Friends are fake. The very notion of friend is made up. I don't have receipts, but here is my theory: the notion of friend is a copycatting of war buddies. War buddies are something else, they have literally killed for each other already, they can trust each other absolutely, and they stand to lose a lot by betraying each other. But war buddies can only be made in war, and the last few centuries in the west have been all about minimizing violence. Friendship is war buddies minus the war, and consequently minus the loyalty and trustworthiness.
Those of us who aren't going to war, we have to form different connections with people. Those who do business can have business associates, customers, suppliers, etc. These are very transactional relationships, but they are real and based on mutual benefit, not a lie like friendship. These relationships start, end, pause, and resume as circumstances change. Those in political circles are likewise, forming transient alliances depending on the matter du jour.
Along the way, maybe a bitter enough battle against a business competitor or an opposing agenda could promote business associates or political allies to war buddies, but this will be the exception rather than the rule.
It should be said, not all men who fight together become war buddies. Those who fail to be trustworthy and loyal to each other become casualties. The legend of war buddies benefits from a great deal of survivorship bias.
