I’ve realised what people mean when they say stuff like “it’s all politics”. And what politics are about.
Politics are the attempt at managing conflicts between groups. If it’s just one man against a group, then it’s “justice”, and he is crushed. If a group is large enough that another group can’t handle them easily no matter how crazy they think the other group’s views are, then the dynamics are “politics”.
If one man goes around killing jews, he is a murderer and goes to prison. If a small group does it, they are terrorists and are hunted down. If a significant portion of a country does it, then it is “politics”. And of course, if the conflict heats up, it becomes war or civil war.
Politics are just group conflicts. It is not “the art of managing a country”, it is simply various groups fighting for their own interests.
That’s why politics are so interesting on a superficial level, and so enervating on deeper levels. Conflict is bread and butter to the ego, but utterly trivial to the spirit.