Cognitive Dissonance Anyone?

Here's an interesting idea from Yuval Noah Harari  that that could explain a lot about politics today.

Yet the two values [equality and individual freedom] contradict each other. Equality can be ensured only by curtailing the freedoms of those who are better of. Guaranteeing that every individual will be free to do as he wishes inevitably short-changes equality. The entire political history of the world since 1789 can be seen as a series of attempts to reconcile this contradiction....

If tensions, conflicts and irresolvable dilemmas are the spice of every culture, a human being who belongs to an particular culture must hold contradictory beliefs and be riven by incompatible values. It's such an essential feature of any culture that it even has a name: cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is often considered a failure of the human psyche. It fact, it is a vital asset. Had people been unable to hold contradictory beliefs and values, it would probably been impossible to establish and maintain any human culture. (164-165)