Political ideologies occupy, in actuality, a very small niche that usually doesn’t get in the way of getting business done.
That, um, very much depends. Compare, e.g. Washington, DC in 2015 (where it’s mostly true) to, say, St.Petersburg, Russia in 1917 (where it’s not true at all). Or, say, Donetsk, Ukraine in 2015 if you want a contemporary example.
Political ideology doesn’t matter only where politics don’t matter (usually because they are stable, inoffensive, and the society has a general consensus on how things should be done). Otherwise all bets are off—look e.g. at your own point 2.
I said usually. Of course there are some events in which ideology plays a big part that are going to go down in history. (Strange how the most salient ones, to me at least, seem to come from the totalitarian side of the spectrum.) The quote I was responding to expressed doubts about the possibility of people with different ideologies to work together at all.
The point is, “some events in which ideology plays a big part” often turn out to be hugely consequential, while the state of “politics don’t matter” frequently turns out to be just a temporary holding pattern. Nassim Taleb in particular is very fond of pointing out that extreme black swan events actually account for much of observed variation in many fields.
As to the totalitarian side of the spectrum, it’s just the bloodiest side in recent history...
That, um, very much depends. Compare, e.g. Washington, DC in 2015 (where it’s mostly true) to, say, St.Petersburg, Russia in 1917 (where it’s not true at all). Or, say, Donetsk, Ukraine in 2015 if you want a contemporary example.
Political ideology doesn’t matter only where politics don’t matter (usually because they are stable, inoffensive, and the society has a general consensus on how things should be done). Otherwise all bets are off—look e.g. at your own point 2.
I said usually. Of course there are some events in which ideology plays a big part that are going to go down in history. (Strange how the most salient ones, to me at least, seem to come from the totalitarian side of the spectrum.) The quote I was responding to expressed doubts about the possibility of people with different ideologies to work together at all.
The point is, “some events in which ideology plays a big part” often turn out to be hugely consequential, while the state of “politics don’t matter” frequently turns out to be just a temporary holding pattern. Nassim Taleb in particular is very fond of pointing out that extreme black swan events actually account for much of observed variation in many fields.
As to the totalitarian side of the spectrum, it’s just the bloodiest side in recent history...