#228: Burying, Feigned Retreat & the Checkmate Principle
3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on the Tricks of Politicians
I. Burying
Burying is a political sleight of hand where lawmakers hide controversial measures inside long, complicated or harmless-sounding bills. Instead of openly debating an unpopular clause, they tuck it into a massive document few people have patience to read. The goal is to make the poison pill look like candy.
One common trick is giving the bill an overly elaborate or misleading title. Imagine there was the so-called BRIGHT Act, or Building Responsible Information Growth and Harmonised Thought Act. Sounds noble yet dull enough to slip through unnoticed, doesn’t it? Hidden in page 738, however, might be a quiet little clause placing your favourite critical thinking newsletter under government control and mandating paid subscriptions for re-education purposes.
Burying isn’t limited to politics. It’s a pretty universal tactic for hiding something unpleasant. Companies slip hidden fees into fine print, marketers bury unhealthy ingredients behind feel-good labels and people soften bad news by tucking it into long conversations. The strategy is always the same: Distract, overload and let the inconvenient truth slide by unnoticed. But we did notice.
II. Feigned Retreat
We won! The bill has been withdrawn. The BRIGHT Act is dead. We can all go back to reading whatever we want. Or can we?
Feigned Retreat is a stratagem or scheme designed to be victorious in battle — or politics. The government’s attempt to slip the bill in under the radar didn’t work. However, the people in charge only pretended to withdraw. In reality, government-mandated newsletter subscriptions will soon be back on the table under a different name.
The underlying strategy here is to feign defeat, disappear from attention, then re-emerge under a new guise that emphasises benefits to distract from controversial elements. Repeat if necessary.
On an entirely different note, would you support USCOREA, or the Ultimate Small Creator Opportunity and Resource Expansion Act? I would. Small creators are notoriously lacking opportunities and resources. About time that the government comes to our rescue. I see no harm in that.
Inspired by: Prof. Dr. Christian Rieck, The tricks of politicians
III. Checkmate Principle
Feigned Retreat and Burying give a glimpse into political strategising that might be best captured by the Checkmate Principle. Like in a game of chess, what if you’re destined to be defeated because your opponent is always two steps ahead of you?
Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
―Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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Have a great week,
Chris
themindcollection.com