[maxwell]

I think you're confusing politics with persuasion. Technical people have a problem with persuasion; I did, before I joined a large company, decided I wanted to actually change things for the better, and realized there's nothing dishonest about convincing people that someone will improve their company/lives. I was just bad at it.

Technical people seem to lay out arguments that are sound, but just aren't convincing or appropriate for the audience at hand. This is why shitty technology can win out when the customer lacks the time to make an informed decision, and makes the perfectly rational decision to go with the more convincing pitch.

And that's just it: decision makers don't have time to go through a thorough, completely objective, scientific argument. So, you either do what you need to get things done in what you feel is the right way, or you don't. There's nothing wrong with hacking a meeting, so long as the hack benefits the company, or at least is done in the company's best interest. As with software, the only bad hacks are those that benefit the hacker at the expense of the organization.

[abecedarius]

People rationalize why what's good for them and their allies is the common good. (A person who believes they don't, well, that's evidence against them more than it's evidence in their favor.)

I agree with your first two paragraphs.

[maxwell]

It's a problem if one puts their own interests first; it's not to convince oneself and one's allies to do what's in the common good.