Dear Friends,
It seems to me, the reason government fails at everything it puts its hand to, is because government is idealistic, while the world is complex. Which is why the private sector is pragmatic. In the real world actions have consequences and we have to cut our losses, if we make a bad decision… but bureaucrats have the full weight and power of the government backing their bad decisions. There’s no need to back down from anything no matter how in the wrong the government is. Like Pnut the squirrel. How much did that display of unlimited power cost the taxpayer? To what end? Because who cares if someone is keeping a squirrel? It’s a freaking squirrel! But to idealists, its the principle that matters… not the best outcome. That’s why government fails at everything it puts its hand to.
Idealism has its place, in church… but not in government. The world is complex, which means it requires pragmatic governments, not idealistic ones. Because an idealist doesn’t pay attention to feedback. They’re single minded. In that single mindedness, an idealist will cross any bridge and burn it… if it moves them towards their perceived goal. No cost is too high, because someone else pays it. No violence is off limits, since others suffer it. Plus, no measure is too extreme, in the face of humiliation. That’s why governments go to war… killing millions. Because they can’t back down, that would cost them face. An idealist in government need not back down… there’s unlimited money to force their will. Since bureaucracy is an artificial world of order it perfectly suits an idealist.
In the real world however, where actions have consequences, idealists are eaten for lunch by pragmatists. Because the real world has competition. Under a regime of competition, the best competitors win, not the most idealistic. Because reality is a constantly changing landscape. A dancing landscape if you will. The pragmatist is able to change plans midstream. While the idealist can’t. Which makes the pragmatist mindset more effective in chaotic situations. Because the pragmatist is able to adapt. While the idealist’s mind is glass. So shatters rather than bends. Yet in government, it need not bend, ever. Everyone else has to bend. While this paradigm is made possible by government’s monopoly on violence, it leads to poor outcomes, for the people, society and that nation.
Governments are made up of idealists who refuse to accept feedback. Because they don’t have to. Lacking that feedback they can’t but go offtrack. Like any blindfolded race car driver would. No matter how well such a person has mapped the territory, they will go off the road, because they cant see it. Moreover, idealists think themselves more moral than pragmatists. Who’re always compromising. So idealists look down their noses at pragmatists. Since Trump is not only a dreaded pragmatist, but a populist as well, no wonder the idealists in government have gone to such lengths to keep him out of power. A pragmatist with real power would force the idealists to bend. Since they can’t, they fear breaking instead. Learning from feedback and compromise are the pragmatist’s secret weapon.
The cost to society of a government that seeks to win at everything, regardless of the cost, is more than simply money. Yes, it’s very expensive to the taxpayer, but lost opportunity extends far into the future. For every business that would have otherwise succeeded, innovation that was held back and entrepreneur crushed by regulation and hubris, the cost to the future is incalculable. That’s why I advocate for pragmatic government. Because of the benefits we could all share if the government became more pragmatic and less idealistic. The role of the state, isn’t to perpetuate and enlarge the state, but to protect the rights of the citizens in this chaotic world. From other states, organizations and indeed itself. Only a pragmatic government is capable of that in a complex system.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
