(no subject)

[timelets]

Politics in a democracy is a combination of zero-sum and cooperative games (per Yglesias via rsokolov);
-- elections is a zero-sum game (win-lose);
-- policy is a cooperative game (win-win).

Currently, zero-sum games dominate American politics despite the times of economic prosperity. Why?

- in the absence of wars, politicians learned to frame basic socioeconomic issues as zero-sum games, e.g.
-- immigrants vs citizens ("НАШИ бедные. их именно мигранты опускают уже ниже некуда.");
-- trade disputes;
-- green energy vs fossil fuels ("wind turbines cause cancer.");
-- single-payer "socialist" vs employer-sponsored "capitalist" healthcare;
-- "elites vs the people";
-- urban vs rural.

Reality TV and social media stimulate zero-sum game framing:
-- always winners and losers;
-- trolling and ego maintenance;
-- direct appeal to emotions, e.g. measure engagement and likes;
-- no need to get anything done.

Major critical issues ignored by zero-sum framing:
-- the death of industrial employment;
-- budget deficits;
-- infrastructure deficiencies;
-- urban density and housing costs;
-- asset inequality;
-- aging (Medicare/Social Security);
-- military overspending.

Comments

[tijd]

A comprehensive immigration reform is also needed and should be a win-win.

Eisenhower said: "if a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power."
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=10746

If the goal is not to solve problems but simply to stay in power, one way to achieve it is to exacerbate problems, making the voters even more anxious https://timelets.dreamwidth.org/953782.html?thread=344246#cmt344246