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Notes -
Firstly, because nothing actually lasts forever, so I think that where there's a burden of proof, it's on people asserting that nothing can possibly change.
Secondly, because the only way to effectuate change is to first believe that it is possible. So it is usually for the best to operate on the assumption that positive change is possible.
To your first point, yes, there are ways out of the spiral, just not good ones. The obvious one is for one side to effectively clear the other from the board, achieving total political victory. A lesser version of the same thing is to return to the status quo ante, where the left's job is to win and the right's job is to meaninglessly protest and eventually give in. What there is not is any way to return to a co-operate/co-operate equilibrium with the current factions, since at least one side has made it clear it will not co-operate.
As far as I can tell the only thing that this belief is used for is to give Red Tribe a reason to keep respecting the institutions which have been corrupted against it. Which they want to do, because Red Tribe is -- or perhaps WAS -- largely conservative and inherently respects institutions.
In theory there is a way out, and it's for Blue to not be defectbot and to credibly signal it's not defectbot and for Red to believe them. But that's not going to happen. Blue claims it is Red who is defecting, that they aren't defecting at all and no there are really good reasons they have gay marriage everywhere but people in blue states don't have gun rights, and no really we didn't defect on that immigration compromise and a bee really is a fish etc etc.
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