Social reality is so complicated that, once you join one team or the other, you become specialized in detecting certain patterns, but you become blind to other patterns.
Jonathan HaidtRead
Trying to run Congress without human relationships is like trying to run a car without motor oil. Should we be surprised when the whole thing freezes up?
Interpretation
What this quote means
Human relationships are essential for effective governance, just as motor oil is crucial for a car's operation.
In this quote, Jonathan Haidt emphasizes the importance of interpersonal relationships in politics and governance. He likens the functioning of Congress to that of a car, suggesting that without strong relationships among its members, the institution cannot operate smoothly and may ultimately fail to achieve its objectives.
Themes
RelationshipsPoliticsGovernanceTeamworkCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a political debate to highlight the necessity of collaboration among lawmakers.
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All quotes βUnderstanding the simple fact that morality differs around the world, and even within societies, is the first step toward understanding your righteous mind.
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Suppose you read about a pill that you could take once a day to reduce anxiety and increase your contentment. Would you take it? Suppose further that the pill has a great variety of side effects, all of them good: increased self-esteem, empathy, and trust; it even improves memory. Suppose, finally, that the pill is all natural and costs nothing. Now would you take it? The pill exists. It is meditation.
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If you grow up in a WEIRD society, you become so well educated in the ethic of autonomy that you can detect oppression and inequality even where the apparent victims see nothing wrong.
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When you hear someone criticize a policy on the other side, that's fine. But when you start hearing motive-mongering and demonization, stand up to it just as you would if it were something that was racist or sexist. If we avoid the demonization, disagreements can be positive.
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We humans are really good at forming groups to compete, and then dissolving the groups and reforming them along different lines to compete in a different way.
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