Going Political

Last one for today.

I plan to continue my discussions on Democracy, soon, with some comments on US electoral procedures.

Before that, though, I'd like to establish a unifying metaphor, that I hope will stand in for much of what I will say.

Many people have compare politics to a game of chess, counter move, move, misderection, seconding guessing. etc.

I would like to propose, though, that democratic, liberal democratic, particularly, politics, is like a game of Go.

Go is a game of stragey, properly played on a 19x19 board, though beginners can play on a 9x9 board to get the hang of it. It's about capturing territory, a reactive struggle between two equal and opposing forces. In the full game, several skirmishes are being fought at once, and the heat is off, each corner unfurling separately, each move does not demand an immediate response.

In the small game it's different, there is no margin, no recovery, no chance of invading the huge swathes of enemy territory and making your peices safe, you need to cut the board in half, and hope you get the winning margin. If you don't, there is every chance of being utterly wiped out.

Hold onto that metaphor, and I'll get working on my proper analyses.