Is it just me, or has Hacker News seen an uptick in politics-focused posts and comments recently?

I think it's actually appropriate here, and I'll try to articulate why. (Disclaimer: former history major here. I might be biased by my own interests.)

I'm reading "A Hacker's Mind" by Schneier and it makes a fundamental connection I've been trying to reason about for a long time. He looks at hacking through a very broad lens. He defines it essentially as the manipulation of a system using its rules to take actions that are allowed by the system but undermine its intent.

The key thing he says is that systems exist within and connected to broader systems. He gives the example of an ATM. Fundamentally it's a computer connected to a box of cash. You can hack it by manipulating computer rules. But it also exists within the broader monetary and legal systems, and while the computer's rules might allow you to execute the hack, the legal system will always treat that as an illegal action and prosecute you.

So what I'm basically saying is that as a matter of systems thinking, politics makes sense here on Hacker News. I think where people might object is that it can devolve into arguments about values and black-and-white thinking (arguably this essay does that, although I think the Burroughs quote about the bull in the ring approaches a systems theory aspect). Personally I enjoy thinking about this stuff though. Macro-level socioeconomic systems are the largest things we can think about aside from planetary-level concerns like geology and universe-scale stuff like cosmology. Their dynamics are very interesting and interact in many ways with the stuff we think of as more traditionally "hacking."

It's always been political. What's changing is the level and maturity of the discourse. Rarely do I see conversations where both sides are trying to be amiable and understanding. I could have rose-tinted glasses, but I strictly remember conversations here being a lot more nuanced a decade or so ago.

I see this type of post every week, every month… no it’s always been political. Tech politic — or government politic is just analyzing power structure.

Well, the political world is turning fairly rapidly now with all the moves the US administration makes. 2026 is a crazy year.

A gardener whose only focus are roses without any regard to the soil is an atrocious gardener.