It seems to me that you have to be really good at politics in order to avoid politics. If you don’t understand politics you usually get taken advantage of. You don’t have to play the game all the time but you need to understand it.
Some people understand this stuff, and some people don't, and I don't see a lot of ways for someone who doesn't get it to become someone who gets it.
I avoid politics, but in a rapidly changing world politics often find technologists when others are on the side of resisting change.