Politics is the same at every level
The stakes are different, but it always comes down to relationships, emotions and who feels heard
People tend to think of politics as something that happens “out there” — in Washington, in Raleigh, or on television. But the truth is, politics is just a word for what happens when people try to make decisions together.
And once you see that clearly, you realize something important: Politics is the same at every level.
There’s really no meaningful difference between a race for HOA president and a campaign for governor. The stakes might be different. The scale might be different. But the dynamics — the incentives, the behavior, the coalitions and cliques, the factions and fault lines — are the same.
Whether it's the West Wing, the governor’s mansion, or the neighborhood HOA, the machinery runs on one fuel: human nature.
A swim club case study
I recently saw it play out in my suburban neighborhood’s swim club election.
Instead of Democrats and Republicans, it was pickleball players versus tennis players, pool volleyballers versus toddler moms. But there were still entrenched incumbents. Insurgents trying to rally discontent. Whisper campaigns. Disputed ballots. Endless procedural wrangling over what kind of proxy votes should count.
In the end, the incumbents won, largely because they held the levers of power and discarded proxy votes from the other side.
Yes, it was just a pool. But it was also a masterclass in how politics works. It felt eerily familiar, because it is.
The war room for a gubernatorial campaign really isn’t that different from the neighborhood group chat. A dozen calls to a state legislator’s office can shift a vote just like a dozen calls to a PTA president can cancel a field trip. There’s a reason door knocking works, whether you’re running for U.S. president or HOA treasurer.
Big jobs, same grudges
The flip side is just as revealing: a high-level political campaign can feel just as petty and personal as a neighborhood election.
I’ve seen a city council race go sideways because the candidate didn’t meet with one well-connected donor before announcing. I’ve heard of a once-powerful alliance fracturing after a future governor was seated in a chair just slightly too small.
And of course, at the national level, President Donald Trump lays it bare. Federal appointments and policy shifts have turned on who praised him on cable news. He doesn’t resist his worst impulses very well. But to be honest, I think other politicians just hide it better.
The higher you go, the more polished the rhetoric and the bigger the budgets, but the emotional mechanics stay exactly the same.
The human operating system
It’s not just politics. You see this everywhere.
The trash talk in an NBA playoff game isn’t that different from what you hear at a YMCA run. The tension at a corporate board meeting feels a lot like a church budget discussion. The CEO of Bank of America scarfing down an energy bar between meetings? He’s you. Just with better parking.
At every level, human interactions are built on a few consistent truths.
First, most people are doing the best they can. Few are as noble or principled as they’d like you to believe. But they’re also not the cartoon villains their opponents make them out to be. Most are just trying to navigate relationships, reputations, and responsibilities without stepping on a landmine.
Second, people take things personally, because how could they not? We give grace to the people we know. We assume the worst of the people we don’t. Even in political settings, emotion drives behavior.
You see it in turf battles — this is my thing. You should have asked me first. People don’t crave power as much as they want recognition, gratitude, and deference. And people will bend pretty far to avoid a tense phone call.
Third, power doesn’t flow through formal channels. It flows through familiarity. A small number of people, those who know how to work the group chat, the donor list, the neighborhood gossip chain, get the word out. Most people don’t engage. Those who do, follow cues from people they trust.
Tolstoy was (mostly) wrong
Tolstoy argued that history isn’t shaped by “great men,” but by sweeping societal forces — the spirit of the time. In War and Peace, he argues that world events aren’t the result of singular, heroic individuals, but the broader forces of culture, technology, and mass psychology. History, in his view, is less about Napoleon and more about the millions of people who made Napoleon possible.
That’s partially true. But what gets lost in that view is the very real influence of everyday interactions between flawed, emotional people. The cumulative impact of a thousand interpersonal dynamics — the petty disagreements, the kind gestures, the bruised egos — can bend history in one direction or another.
Without Washington, maybe the United States still comes into being. But it wouldn’t look the same.
Hurt feelings and personal grudges have started campaigns. Offhand comments have derailed entire legislative agendas. Petty conflicts shape the course of events just as much as ideology ever does.
Human behavior doesn’t scale. It replicates. What happens in miniature at the pool clubhouse happens in macro at the Capitol.
The takeaway
Understanding this isn’t cynical. It’s actually a more hopeful view of politics than the one you usually hear.
Politics isn’t rigged or shallow. It’s just made of people. And once you see that, you stop being surprised by how things work. You start looking past the performance and into the incentives. You begin to understand how power actually moves, and how accessible it really is.
And maybe — just maybe — you start to show up. Because the whole system runs on the people who do.
At a premium
Important reads
Fact-check: Did Democrats bury alive their best friends? (Anderson Alerts)
Which defines you best - your state and its symbols or your political party? (LA Times)
How AI can support self-government (Law & Liberty)
Top spenders on social media last week
Question of the week
Usually I put a poll here, but today I’ve got a different kind of ask: Will you share Longleaf Politics with a friend?
I’ve made it easy. Just click the button that fits your friend’s politics, and it’ll open a pre-written email with a message tailored just for them. You can send it as-is or tweak it however you’d like.