good news. I have arrived at the bold and original conclusion that ideology was a mistake
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Bismarck wasn't a very nice person but he was fucking right
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sonya! supposedly? Retweeted sonya! supposedly?
this tweet is getting more attention than expected so I should clarify the Bismarck referencehttps://twitter.com/sonyasupposedly/status/1137410459416457216 …
sonya! supposedly? added,
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sonya! supposedly? Retweeted sonya! supposedly?
sonya! supposedly? added,
sonya! supposedly? @sonyasupposedlyI keep returning to Bismarck's brilliantly simple "art of the possible" line — the key, and oft-missed corollary is that winning at politics means controlling what is possible; transforming that which cannot be done into that which is only natural to doShow this thread1 reply 1 retweet 12 likesShow this thread -
to whatever degree I do the threadweb thing, it's because I'm too lazy to rewrite anything that I've already posted
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Replying to @sonyasupposedly
I think fundamentally, this is wrong. People use narratives to gain power *all the time*. And it seems to work better if they believe those narratives.
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Replying to @xstntlprvrt69
I disagree. It only works when you have a tailwind at your back. Granted, in that circumstance it works really well.
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Replying to @sonyasupposedly
If you can come up with the appropriate narrative for the circumstances, you've created the tailwind.
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Replying to @xstntlprvrt69
> come up with the appropriate narrative for the circumstances yeah, that's realpolitik. you have circled around to literally my point in bringing up Bismarck
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Replying to @sonyasupposedly
I suppose I meant "the circumstances" a bit more broadly than whatever bullshit can move you to the next instrumental step of one's goal. I mean, I think there is probably some combination of both going on (as politicians are rarely idealists).
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I guess my point is that power is exercised within some kind of justificatory framework, and if you succeed in tearing down that framework or building up another one - congratulations! you've made a path to power (not necessarily for yourself).
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