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There isn't time in life to become expert on every last thing, nor is it economically efficient for people to do so. Maybe we would have less regulatory capture

There isn't time in life to become expert on every last thing, nor is it economically efficient for people to do so. Maybe we would have less regulatory capture if a large chunk of our polity weren't dedicated to the proposition that government is bad and that they should be in charge of it (to show you how bad it is of course, not to line their pockets or anything ha ha why would you even think that). Zero-trust societies are neither desirable nor sustainable. Paranoia is not hte basis of a healthy polity.

jMyles 3y ago
> There isn't time in life to become expert on every last thing, nor is it economically efficient for people to do so. One needn't be an expert to open the Seafood Watch app and check if the fish they're about to buy is contributing to ocean degradation. Or learn about local municipal waste management practices. Or adopt personal habits consistent with antimicrobial stewardship. And so on and so on. ...but to your deeper point: the information age _does_ beckon us to be our best generalist selves. It's now possible to scale up to very significant levels of understanding on topics which underpin social and economic policy in timeframes needed to meaningfully participate in debate. I'm concerned we have over-corrected for dunning kruger effects in some areas, especially if our chief guardrail against release of greenhouse gases is the presumption that the EPA is ensuring form afar that your local dump is up to snuff.