The phrase "things that don't work" is obviously not referring to human lives, it is referring to behaviors chosen by people. We make choices as to how we spend

The phrase "things that don't work" is obviously not referring to human lives, it is referring to behaviors chosen by people. We make choices as to how we spend our time, how we sustain ourselves, how we interact with other people, etc. Some of these choices work out, some do not. Fortunately, we and our fellow humans can learn from these experiences and adapt our behavior. The incremental discovery of "things that don't work", and adjustment to these discoveries, is good and necessary because no one has, or will ever have, a complete understanding of the perfect society for human flourishing. Given the limits on knowledge, I find the mind of an individualist far less scary than the mind of someone who presumes to know how others should live, and is willing to use force to ensure that they comply with that vision.