NOTE: In this post, you will see me
working in public
juggling previously published ideas
recombining them for better flow
pushing myself toward more frequent publishing
Piercello’s Progress, indeed!
Wish me luck.
INTRODUCTION
In politics, always ask “Is the underlying issue a problem, or is it a constraint?” Can the issue be solved or avoided, or is it a limiting factor that must be managed?
Because civilization depends on getting it right.
CONSTRAINT I: SOCIAL FRICTION
“Us/them thinking” is hardwired into humanity:
People sort the world reflexively into “us” and “them”
Unfortunately, “us/them thinking” creates social friction:
No two people draw their “us/them” lines in exactly the same place
Social friction is here to stay. Its continuous presence is a political constraint. It is not a problem to be solved or avoided, but a limiting factor that must be managed.
.
CONSTRAINT II: “WHO DECIDES?”
“Us/them” systems for managing social friction are easy to find. They wear many labels, but converge upon just two parameters:
“Us/them,” with one set of rules for us (and a separate set for them)
“Live/let live,” so long as they aren’t bothering us too much
Unfortunately, “Who decides?” is a society-destroying black hole of a question:
Who gets to decide who is us, and who is them?
Who decides “who decides?”
Who decides, who decides “who decides?” etc.
The link between “us/them social managing” and “Who decides?” is another political constraint. It is not a problem to be solved or avoided, but a limiting factor that must be managed.
THE VALUE OF CONSTRAINTS
What do constraints do?
They define problems.
That is their superpower.
How do constraints define problems?
By eliminating non-answers.
“Stop wasting your energy on things that CANNOT be solved or avoided,” constraints tell us, “and shift your focus to the things that CAN.”
What do Constraints I and II do?
They define the three great problems of politics.
PROBLEM I: POLITICS MOVES IN CYCLES
It is helpful to combine constraints I and II into an all-purpose political map. Not a compass, which is useful for plotting political differences, but a map that measures political similarities.
First layer of the map:
Read the map clockwise. First, spot the two constraints:
Constraint I is italicized. It runs from top-left to center-right
Constraint II is underlined. It runs from bottom-center to top-left
Then, spot their connections:
The overlap is significant
So is the gap at lower-right
Together, the two constraints define a political cycle.
That cycle is the bedrock of our all-purpose political map.
Now, let’s flip the switch and bring the map to life.
Second layer:
(Constraint I arrows are green. Constraint II arrows are blue. The gap arrow is red.)
Arrows send the political cycle into motion:
C.I: People sort the world into “us” and “them.” But nobody does it quite the same way. This creates social friction.
C.II: Us/them systems of managing social friction are easy to find. But all of them force the same question: “Who gets to decide who is us, and who is them?”
C.II→C.I overlap: The obvious answer to “Who decides?” is “us, not them.” But nobody sorts us/them quite the same way! This creates more social friction...
They eliminate non-answers:
The C.II→C.I overlap fully constrains 4/5ths of the political cycle
These constraints, by definition, cannot be solved or avoided
By doing so, they define the problem:
The 5th arrow, the gap arrow, is unconstrained
That is where we MUST concentrate our efforts
INTERLUDE: PROGRESS REPORT
So far, we have
defined the political cycle,
ALL us/them thinking leads to social friction
This includes us/them attempts to manage social friction
noted the significance of the C.II→C.I overlap,
Each “us/them” victory plants the seeds of the next battle
Therefore, no stable “us/them” political solution exists
and developed the beginnings of insight:
Social friction isn’t caused by simple tribalism or factionalism. Instead, it’s caused by universal disagreement over exactly how our tribal and factional boundaries should be redrawn
To succeed, we need an alternative to “us/them” social managing
But there are THREE great problems of politics, not one.
Politics moves in cycles.
Why are they ruinous?
Because the political cycle isn’t steady-state.
Orbital decay is real.
PROBLEM II: POLITICS MOVES IN _RUINOUS_ CYCLES
As the political cycle repeats, it degrades.