Take the Clearpill

The article argues that people choose beliefs for their value in signaling tribal membership rather than for their accuracy, so truth often fails to win in politics. It draws on Leo Strauss's view that political life rests on partial opinions while philosophy seeks the big picture, and on Ernst Junger's anarch in Eumeswil as a model for opting out of politics. It introduces "taking the clearpill," which means avoiding activism because opposing a regime only strengthens it, and avoiding any position that triggers the friend/enemy distinction.