First order thinking means exactly what I intended: a simple model of cause and effect without thinking through consequences entirely. Society needs that somet

First order thinking means exactly what I intended: a simple model of cause and effect without thinking through consequences entirely. Society needs that sometimes. It can be paralyzed by Nth order thinking to the point where gross injustice is allowed to survive for much too long. A response like "just add more regulation and price caps" as a solution to dealing with runaway inflation is definitely first order thinking, as is (in my opinion) "the solution to poverty is to just give people money (UBI)".