Chapter 15. Reality Trumps All Theory The problem with the way politics is practiced is that too many politicians are 'ideological', i.e. they rely on their own theory about what things work, rather than look at the reality of things. I guess the inherently antagonistic nature of parliamentary or congressional democracies, in which politics is inevitably divided into two major parties and further subfactions within, leads to an echo chamber effect in these factions and parties, which often allow theory to become dogma. Far too often, it is about proving our theory to be superior to the opposite side's theory.
In the 20 or so years that I have been paying attention to politics, I have seen plenty of examples of theory not working out in practice, with bad consequences. The Iraq War was actually a good example of this. Aside from the fact that the doctrine of 'pre-emptive strikes' is basically aggression and is hence inherently 136
