I also think another problem here is that you are doing a Taylor expansion of the value of the community with respect to the various parameters it could have. This only really works if the proposed change is small or if the value is relatively globally linear. However, there can be many necessary-but-not-sufficient parameters, in which case the function isn’t linear globally, but instead has a small peak surrounded by many directions of flatness.
It seems to me that rationality with regards to local deductions, ingroup/outgroup effects, etc. could be necessary-but-not-sufficient. Without these, it’s much easier to get thrown off course to some entirely misguided direction—but as you point out, having it does not necessarily provide the right guidance to make progress.
I also think another problem here is that you are doing a Taylor expansion of the value of the community with respect to the various parameters it could have. This only really works if the proposed change is small or if the value is relatively globally linear. However, there can be many necessary-but-not-sufficient parameters, in which case the function isn’t linear globally, but instead has a small peak surrounded by many directions of flatness.
It seems to me that rationality with regards to local deductions, ingroup/outgroup effects, etc. could be necessary-but-not-sufficient. Without these, it’s much easier to get thrown off course to some entirely misguided direction—but as you point out, having it does not necessarily provide the right guidance to make progress.