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Part 2 of 2 (Read Part 1 here.)

Across America there are all kinds of fences. Tough sturdy fences designed to limit the movement of massive, beasts who could trample a lesser fence without even thinking Then there are those smaller, decorative fences, designed to look ice, but also to mark territory. The white picket fence has been a symbol of the American dream for a long time. It’s not a very sturdy fence, and most people could knock it over by just leaning on it, but it served as a suggested barrier, to be respected by those who chose to be civilized and respectful.

The image of the white picket fence has stayed with me because it captures something most political philosophies get wrong about the relationship between freedom and structure. The Collectivist looks at the field and sees animals that need to be penned and design their fences accordingly. The Anarchist looks at the fence and sees an offense against human nature. The Libertarian — the serious one, not the bumper-sticker variety — looks at both and understands that the private property only works because the fence is respected, and only holds because people mostly choose not to test it.

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There’s a concept in cattle ranching called “low-stress handling.” The idea is simple: you design the chutes and pens so the animals move where you want them to go without realizing they’re being directed. No prodding needed. No resistance. Just architecture that exploits the animal’s natural tendency to follow the path of least resistance.

The cow thinks it’s walking freely. The rancher knows better.

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Part 2 of 2 

I just made myself a cup of coffee, French press, picked one up at an estate sale for a dollar. The instructions I found online were specific: let the grounds steep in the hot water for exactly four minutes. Any longer and too much bitterness seeps out, and you’ve ruined what should have been a good cup.

The power of Collectivism works the same way.

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Over the past few weeks I’ve laid out a political framework, the Wedge, that replaces the broken Left-Right spectrum with something that actually describes how power works. Collectivism vs. Individualism on the horizontal axis, the Leader/Follower gap on the vertical, and a wedge shape that widens toward Collectivism because centralized control structurally requires hierarchy.

I also walked through every position on that wedge and named their weaknesses, including the weaknesses of my own tribe.

Now I want to zoom in on the middle.

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Here’s a line worth sitting with: Thinking is the enemy of Compliance*.

Not rebellion or protest or even armed resistance——thinking. The simple act of processing information for yourself instead of accepting someone else’s pre-packaged conclusion. That’s what every system of control, left, right, religious, secular or corporate, governmental, finds most threatening. Not because independent thinkers are dangerous. Because they’re unpredictable, and unpredictable people are very hard to manage.

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In yesterday’s article about Iran, a word kept showing up: handle. The War Powers Resolution is a handle. Tribal loyalty is a handle. But I used the term without properly explaining it, and it deserves its own treatment because understanding what a Handle is, and how it differs from a Principle, might be the single most important thing you can learn about politics.

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