Politics & Power Quote by Bruce Sterling

Sterling’s jab works because it refuses the flattering myth that politics is a problem-solving profession. It frames “political people” as a type: career operators whose core competency is attention management, not repair. The dash and the shrugging “not really” puncture any technocratic fantasy that, with the right committee and the right spreadsheet, the machine will simply do what it’s told. Sterling is a science-fiction writer steeped in systems thinking; he’s allergic to narratives that treat complex, adaptive messes like leaky faucets.

Then he lands the comparison that does the real cultural work: “like guys in pop music.” Not artists in general, not composers, but “guys” in pop - a loaded shorthand for image-first celebrity, trend-chasing, and the constant need to stay booked. Pop operates on cycles of hype, branding, and audience capture; politics, Sterling implies, runs on the same circuitry. The goal isn’t to finish the song so much as to stay on the chart. “Solve stuff” becomes almost beside the point when the incentives reward perpetual performance: conflict as content, outrage as distribution, victory laps as product launches.

The subtext is less anti-politics than anti-illusion. Sterling isn’t claiming nothing ever improves; he’s warning that institutions staffed by performers will default to theatrics, and that publics trained as fans will accept it. In a media environment where politicians speak in clips and careers rise on “moments,” the line reads less like a metaphor than an operating manual for why problems persist: unsolved issues are renewable fuel for the show.