Comment by probably_wrong

I think your edit shows why people are reading your comment in a different light than yours.

When you see that quote, you apparently focus on the "if I want X to happen, I need to create the circumstances that will lead to it".

When I read that quote, I immediately think of a long list of people who choose actions with complete disregard to the consequences of those actions. Mass unemployment? Destroy local communities? Poison the environment? Surveillance states? Hey, as long as they got what they wanted...