The rise of Progressive social planning doctrine was predicated on the supposed "failure" of free market capitalism and a perceived need for government direction and control of people's economic decisions. The main fallacy underpinning such efforts is the Utopian Presumption: people are imperfect, but human action can nonetheless be perfected; such perfection is desirable as a primary social value; and government is the only agency by which perfection may be achieved, most directly through regulatory and behavioral control.
Aside from the obvious constraints on liberty that such a belief system (Progressivism) imposes upon individuals, a key unintended consequence of modern statism is not only a loss of the freedom to succeed, but of the freedom to fail.
Failure is a vital mechanism by which problems may be identified, mechanisms and constraints comprehended, and lessons learned. By substituting the narrow decisions and determinations of elite central planners for those of millions of people acting billions of times a day, the normal mechanisms of human comprehension, learning advancement and market discovery are utterly subsumed to sets of a priori assumptions and dictates, resulting in wildly misallocated resources, prices divorced from supply and demand, incentives delinked from effort, and often, much worse.
When individuals are allowed to fail freely, given the protection of their rights and property and equal opportunity, they tend to learn and move on. But when government bureaucrats fail, they frequently tend to blame those under their control and regulation, and seek to punish them. Cass Sunstein must be so very unhappy with us.
Well Andy, is a high school graduate from Manchester in 1958 the same as a high school graduate from Manchester in 2013?
Same factual information? Same knowledge of American History? Same Arithmetic skills? Same attitude toward law and order? Same religious practices? Same family structure? Are their teachers the same knowledgeable people who guided you toward citizenship?
Carefully avoiding saying who's better or worse, I can answer for Maine. "No." The people are just not the same. The country is spinning toward dysfunctionality. 5 years with no federal budget? Just WTF!
OTOH, how many of your '58 class were tattooed? Pierced? Had had an abortion?
I work with an excellent group of young people (18-30) at a community college ... they certainly have potential. But let's face facts: on a factual knowledge basis, on a skills basis, and in their manners, they are more like 6th and 7th graders would have been in the 50s. They are extremely well schooled in "Self-Esteem," Political correctness, Global Warming, and have never failed a course! Imagine sexually active 6th graders? With cars? With drugs? With illegitimate children? And somehow with disposable income? (95% Obama supporters, BTW)
The Liberal élite certainly does not think the "working and middle classes" whence these kids spring, are to be trusted with important decisions. Some days, I ain't so sure myself! The Progressive's needn't worry as we should. They have these young people ... lock, stock, and barrel. (Sorry, but that metaphor'll cost you in English Comp nowadays, although spelling doesn't count.)
The idea that the mandatory judgments of a handful of "experts" can substitute for those made voluntarily by billions of independent citizens is one that has persisted for over one hundred years.
Our problem is that now a majority has just shown us that they are willing to accept mandatory judgements by your handful of experts. Totally cut off from what used to be our national customs, history,and morals, a majority elected and re-elected the present administration.
Now, how do we "win" in '14?