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>> Look no further than the War on Drugs. It's been clear for decades that by every objective measure it's a (barbaric, costly) accelerant for exactly the kinds

• roc 15y ago
  Perhaps "unpopular" was the wrong way to phrase things. "You don't hear it very often/emphatically from the mainstream media, nor spoken aloud by anyone in a position to change policy, nor spoken aloud by anyone who has a serious desire to gain the positions that could change policy."
• jerf 15y ago
  It's commonly thought to be a failure, but it's politically incorrect to propose any solution other than doing the same thing we're doing now, only harder. I consider this one of the most common failure cases of government; if they don't stumble on the essentially-correct policy the first time out, it becomes virtually impossible to change it later because it involves someone (possible very large and powerful someones) having to admit they were wrong. For another example where the only acceptable solution is "the same, only more more more", see school reform. "Everybody" knows that isn't going to work, but nothing else is acceptable.
  • roc 15y ago
    Which, put that way, is not unlike the Innovator's Dilemma.