The earliest surviving Egyptian papyrus is the daily logbook of a bureaucrat named Merer (ca. 2550 BCE).
Merer supervised the production of limestone for the outer shell of the Great Pyramids at Giza.
Many of the “great achievements of civilization” have indeed “come from government bureaus.”
![A table with three headings at the top which read: Friend-Enemy Politics, Pluralist Politics, and Technocratic Politics. The first row is titled "social ontology of politics (what is the political world made of?), the second is titled "task of politics (what do we think we're doing in politics?), the third is titled "goal of politics (what does politics generate?):"
The social ontology of politics in friend-enemy politics is a "world made up of friends and enemies. No neutrality or fairness. Identity overriding," in pluralist politics it is a "world made up of innumerable groups who must find ways to live together. Identity is central," in technocratic politics, the "world [is] composed of individuals who experience common problems. No groups, no identity."
The task of politics in the friend-enemy mode is "for the virtuous 'Us' to defeat the evil 'Them,'" in pluralist politics it is "conciliation of different groups and their competing interests," in technocratic politics it is "solving social problems."
The goal of politics in friend-enemy politics is "public tokens of 'our' domination or of enemy's defeat;" in pluralist politics it is "fair compromise;" in technocratic politics it is "effective policy."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2c4hmyxdfk4aky3jeoulhog5/bafkreif6znx6kkbywzb6nace74qggocrgg6mudmwfpt6rt3c3lp5lridke)
