Engineering Open Societies
It is perhaps overly simplistic to chart the inversion of meaning in the phrase “good enough for government work.” Nonetheless, one of the underlying intuitions behind my thinking is that the loss of faith in democracy is partly due to the fact that, while government programs have undoubtedly been impactful and have effected meaningful change, their impact often falls short of their aspirations. The very visible gap between intent and execution leads many to believe that government does not consistently deliver well-designed, well-implemented programs or demonstrate clear strategic thinking. The roots for this are many and varied:
Zero-sum Contest: The majority endeavors to force through their agenda at all costs while in power, while the minority makes every effort to block their efforts.
Horse Trading and Partisanship: Compromises and trade-offs dilute the original intent of laws, leading to legislation that serves political expediency rather than the public interest.
