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roystgnr comments on Politics is hard mode - Less Wrong
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Yes, this is what I thought of when I read this:
It's not that politics isn't important to get right, it's just that talking about has negative expected value. Nearly every political argument between two people makes at least one person further entrenched in error.
Maybe "politics is like that scene in a thriller where the two guys are fighting to reach a single gun; but in this case the handle and trigger are actually poisoned."
If we're looking for simple, popular, fictional metaphors for the importance and danger of politics, it's convenient that Peter Jackson adapted one into a blockbuster trilogy that sold three billion dollars worth of tickets.
Politics is my precious...
Initial reaction: Yeah! Politics is the one ring! That's way more succinct!
30 seconds later: "Politics is the One Ring" - waaaiit, this doesn't quite seem like an accurate representation of the proper incentive structure....
So -- the single most important thing in the world? Worth any sacrifice?
I don't think this metaphor works well...
Worth any sacrifice not to use for itself, but to keep its full potential power from being used against you. As for "the single most important thing in the world", not quite, but "permanent stagnation under totalitarianism" is usually (IMHO correctly) near the top of lists of existential risks.