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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (54807)	10/26/2002 9:59:33 AM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 281500

But you and I were not talking about categories as analytical but categories as political tools. That's a curious distinction. Isn't analysis part of politics? At any rate, most people I know who are interested in politics are interested in how other people think about things, and why. Commentators, pundits, talking heads on TV spend a lot of their time hashing out political positions. In real life, politicians have to make compromises in order to get votes, they have to put together coalitions, so they need to understand different positions, where there are similarities, where there are irreconcilable differences. You said it's about power, not persuasion. But power only comes when you have a majority, and the only way to get a majority is through persuasion. Pointing out that somebody's beliefs are outside the mainstream is fair commentary, but I expect that people who do hold alternative points of view will stand their ground unless they are persuaded.