Although Glenn Beck might think otherwise, Sunstein has a very important and very useful philosophy for the effective operation of government. It can be broken apart into a couple of key positions. First, government is necessary and useful, but it is inevitably flawed. Second, citizens' relationship to the government is improved when government's impact is simplified (not necessarily lessened), although that might demand greater organizational complexity. Third, a simple and effective government is exemplified by supporting proper choices and encouraging freedom, instead of applying a heavy hand.
The most important feature of this platform is that it provides for on effective ongoing debate about how government should operate. Active citizens should see flaws in how government operates, and this can be complemented by a wide variety of opinions on how to fix them. Sunstein's commitment to this process is clear in his promotion of "regulatory moneyball," quantitative indicators of the impact of regulatory regimes. Given better assessments of the results of different decisions, we can better debate the appropriate trade offs that we're willing to make.
The only harmful attitude in this debate is an assumption that any active regulatory system will either be perfect or useless. I have my own biases against absenteeism, but I also hate the idea forced on us by current Congressional inaction that we should just pass a couple laws and be done with it. And if passing a law wouldn't immediately solve the problem, we should just abandon trying. It's so intellectually lazy that it's infuriating.
I think this attitude feeds into the stupid myth about the length of bills. Even simple rules might need specific definition, and that takes work. It's much better for everyone than a world filled with ambiguity and confusion because things weren't explained well. To get to something is fundamentally simple for citizens, there might be a ton of complexity in governmental operations.
To make this actually work, we need people constantly pointing out the problems with current regulations and working to revise them for the better. The more libertarian side of the argument (when it's not lazy and just frothing at the mouth over "evil" government), is very useful. To belabor the point, Cass Sunstein is the perfect example here. He, along with co-author Richard Thaler, is a strong proponent of minimalism , but he uses this philosophy to pragmatic ends. This is why their first book together, Nudge, was all about striking the appropriate balance to find "libertarian paternalism."
I would be a lot more interested in the right's arguments about regulation if they were actually focused on improving government. The process of self-governance is always hard and imperfect, especially when a part of society is determined to undermine it. If only we could just get past that, we would all be better. Unfortunately, it seems like we still have a very long way to go.
Oh, and read Simpler. Cass is the boss.
I think this attitude feeds into the stupid myth about the length of bills. Even simple rules might need specific definition, and that takes work. It's much better for everyone than a world filled with ambiguity and confusion because things weren't explained well. To get to something is fundamentally simple for citizens, there might be a ton of complexity in governmental operations.
To make this actually work, we need people constantly pointing out the problems with current regulations and working to revise them for the better. The more libertarian side of the argument (when it's not lazy and just frothing at the mouth over "evil" government), is very useful. To belabor the point, Cass Sunstein is the perfect example here. He, along with co-author Richard Thaler, is a strong proponent of minimalism , but he uses this philosophy to pragmatic ends. This is why their first book together, Nudge, was all about striking the appropriate balance to find "libertarian paternalism."
I would be a lot more interested in the right's arguments about regulation if they were actually focused on improving government. The process of self-governance is always hard and imperfect, especially when a part of society is determined to undermine it. If only we could just get past that, we would all be better. Unfortunately, it seems like we still have a very long way to go.
Oh, and read Simpler. Cass is the boss.
No comments:
Post a Comment