this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2026
324 points (89.5% liked)
Memes
54825 readers
914 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
One could say the same of surgery, that you can learn by doing, but like surgery, without studying what has already been discovered, you'll be hurting a lot of people unnecessarily to get there, taking a lot longer too. We need to do both.
Eh. That's the difference between a complex system (politics) and a complicated system (the part of a human body where surgery is relevant). It's easier to write a manual for a complicated system and have it be correct and valuable. Complex systems not so much, not lease because every context is different and local knowledge is extremely valuable.
I agree that theory is often useful. I don't think it always is though, and I think it can be misleading and wrong for a long time without anyone really noticing. I mean.. Neoliberal economics also has a lot of theory..
Theory is written with a purpose. Neoliberalism is wrong, but useful for maintaining capitalist hegemony. Correct theory is very useful.