> The drive for easily tracked goals is not inherent in government, it is an artifact of current political process. While I agree with your intent, I think thi

> The drive for easily tracked goals is not inherent in government, it is an artifact of current political process. While I agree with your intent, I think this is incorrect. The need to quantize things is inherent in taking power over them - via government, corporate management, community groups, whatever. A large section of humanity's challenges can be translated back to what we choose to measure, how we measure it, when we measure it, what goals we set for it, etc. It is why we argue over statistical "facts" so much. Seeing Like a State is a great book diving into this topic if you haven't read it. It diverts into a more depressing view of government efforts, but I have yet to find a good refutation of this particular topic, although I would be pleased to encounter one.