Policy decisions are important, granted. That doesn’t mean that conversations about policy by people who are (generally) relatively ignorant and who don’t make decisions or have much influence over the people who make decisions are important. Insofar as they are important, it is when they are converted into activism, which does have the problem of prioritizing your side winning over truth or rationality related goals.
Politics, that is, the actual process of running government, making laws and regulations, etc, that is important. Talking about politics as a spectator doesn’t seem very important.
This might be influenced by my experience/current situation. There are one or more domains where I have (or could/will have) some degree of influence over policy—and the debate over that policy. If I hadn’t taken what I’ve set out in my article, I’d probably have been in this position earlier, or taken this more seriously sooner. Ie, I would have aspired towards being something more than being a spectator. I wonder whether any other capable people in this community might have been in a similar situation or have had that experience but for developing a knee-jerk reaction (like I have) that politics is a mind-killer.
Interestingly, in those domains where I have/might have influence, I find that discussions with people who don’t have influence and might be characterised as spectators are quite interesting/revealing/useful. But that is mainly from the perspective of what the optics of a situation are for the majority of people, and the points that might sway public opinion. It’s also useful to see what actually influences them—so I can get an empirical sense rather than guess using my own flawed mental models.
The other thing is that talking about politics with people who think through their views and don’t tie their identity to a particular party/tribe can actually be quite interesting to talk to. Where they don’t let it be a mind killer it can be a very good lens for getting their perspective on the world, and quite revealing about their personal ideological views. But again—that’s for the rare person who doesn’t let politics to be a mind-killer! (And at least in my recent experience it seems to be more people than I had initially thought. It’s a great litmus test IMO.)
Policy decisions are important, granted. That doesn’t mean that conversations about policy by people who are (generally) relatively ignorant and who don’t make decisions or have much influence over the people who make decisions are important. Insofar as they are important, it is when they are converted into activism, which does have the problem of prioritizing your side winning over truth or rationality related goals.
Politics, that is, the actual process of running government, making laws and regulations, etc, that is important. Talking about politics as a spectator doesn’t seem very important.
Hi Joshua, thanks for the comment!
This might be influenced by my experience/current situation. There are one or more domains where I have (or could/will have) some degree of influence over policy—and the debate over that policy. If I hadn’t taken what I’ve set out in my article, I’d probably have been in this position earlier, or taken this more seriously sooner. Ie, I would have aspired towards being something more than being a spectator. I wonder whether any other capable people in this community might have been in a similar situation or have had that experience but for developing a knee-jerk reaction (like I have) that politics is a mind-killer.
Interestingly, in those domains where I have/might have influence, I find that discussions with people who don’t have influence and might be characterised as spectators are quite interesting/revealing/useful. But that is mainly from the perspective of what the optics of a situation are for the majority of people, and the points that might sway public opinion. It’s also useful to see what actually influences them—so I can get an empirical sense rather than guess using my own flawed mental models.
The other thing is that talking about politics with people who think through their views and don’t tie their identity to a particular party/tribe can actually be quite interesting to talk to. Where they don’t let it be a mind killer it can be a very good lens for getting their perspective on the world, and quite revealing about their personal ideological views. But again—that’s for the rare person who doesn’t let politics to be a mind-killer! (And at least in my recent experience it seems to be more people than I had initially thought. It’s a great litmus test IMO.)