Political Tribes summary

In theory, there’s no reason that tribes can’t coexist peacefully. But, in many cases, real-world power imbalances make that difficult. If one tribe is stronger than another, it might just end up oppressing the weaker group. That in turn breeds resentment.

Market-dominant minorities – tribes that control most of a country’s resources despite being minorities – are a major sources of tribal tensions in many nations. Whether it’s united by religion or ethnicity or something else, such a tribe’s key feature is its disproportionate wealth.

It’s often argued that the foreign policy of the United States is informed by honorable motives. Americans with this view want nothing so much as to give others a taste of the values they cherish.

But the road to hell is usually paved with good intentions. Time and time again, ignorance of tribal politics has proved to be a major stumbling block. And the cost of American mistakes has been high, both at home and in the wider world.

When the Iraq War started in 2003, many people were worried about the consequences. But even the most pessimistic observers didn’t predict just how wrong things would end up going.

The first blunder was postwar planning. Saddam Hussein’s regime was swiftly toppled, but there was nothing to replace it. The power vacuum was filled by forces just as bad – and, in some cases, worse than – the old regime.

Two of today’s most powerful terrorist groups – al-Qaeda and ISIS – are a product of American foreign-policy miscalculations. Both groups emerged because the United States failed to pay proper attention to political tribalism.

Powerful people in tribal nations know how to leverage tribalism to advance their own agenda.

Political tribalism has arrived in America, and it’s causing unprecedented divisions in the country.

Identity politics is partly to blame. In the United States, more and more people are retreating into the comfort of their own tribes.

Members of a tribe regard nonmembers with contempt. That’s a powerful instinct. But, if we want the world to be a more peaceful place, we have to learn to overcome such knee-jerk reactions.  

In America, an understanding of different tribes is vitally important if we want to make political headway.