Perceived group conflict narrows objectives and crowds out long-run goals

Evidence

In short, the more different groups perceive themselves to be in conBict with others, the more narrowly they must choose among objectives and the less they can devote themselves to long-run goals. — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 1353

Categorization

• APHORISMS: Reads as transferable wisdom: groups that see themselves besieged by rivals must sacrifice long-horizon aims to immediate survival.
• SEED: Essay angle: how institutional short-termism is manufactured by the perception of conflict, not by scarcity itself — applied to schools, policing, welfare offices.