The specific political distinction to which political actions and motives can be reduced is that between friend and enemy.

A core claim in Schmitt’s political theory that defines “the political” by the intensity of collective opposition, framing politics around group alignment and conflict rather than policy content or moral ideals.

The quote argues that what makes something political is the possibility of identifying an opposing group as an enemy and organizing around that division; other disagreements become political when they harden into this kind of antagonism.