Ideologies Are Coalition-Built Bundles

Updated: 2025.07.23 3M ago 3 sources
Issue positions that seem morally unified are often stitched together by shifting political alliances rather than by a single set of principles. Small, path-dependent differences in social conditions can lock in arbitrary pairings of views that then feel 'natural' to partisans. — Seeing ideologies as coalition software explains polarization patterns and cautions against moral certainty across unrelated issues.

Sources

What are the chances you’re right about everything?
Lionel Page 2025.07.23 100% relevant
Lionel Page synthesizes Hrishikesh Joshi’s cross-issue correlation observation and quotes David Pinsof et al. (2023) 'Strange bedfellows' asserting belief systems serve alliance interests.
Why and how political ideas matter
Lionel Page 2025.05.15 78% relevant
The article argues that ideologies emerge from and serve coalitions—externally legitimizing claims and internally binding members—closely matching the view that issue positions are stitched by political alliances rather than unified moral principles.
Imagination Is Bullshit
David Pinsof 2024.11.12 78% relevant
The article explicitly describes ideologies as 'collections of ad hoc justifications... designed to advance the interests of ever-shifting political alliances,' directly echoing the coalition-bundling thesis.
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