Where We Stand, and Why

I’d like to introduce you to an obscure but commonsense statement about human nature. It’s called Miles’s law, and it’s contained in a single, simple sentence: “Where you stand depends on where you sit.” It originated as an observation about behavior in bureaucracies—that bureaucrats often defend their agencies’ narrow interests over the common good—but it works as a description of how we all tend to form our positions and join our tribes. It speaks to the immense power of experience and kinship.

I’ll explain by referring to two of the worst mistakes of