Common Sense Folly
“The earth has always been the center of the universe”, common sense, circa 1508.
“We can tell if someone is a witch by throwing them in the river to see if they float”, common sense, circa 1708.
“Nothing will ever replace the horse and buggy”, common sense, circa 1908.
“Our government needs to take a more common sense approach to solving problems”, nonsense, circa 2008.
Science v. Mythology
“Common sense” is a phrase from those comfortable old TV shows like Father Knows Best. “Common sense”, as in “You small children have no common sense. Why not let daddy take care of everything for you?” In a democracy, the people know best.
Fortunately we already have an excellent tool which we can use to evaluate and improve public programs. It’s called scientific analysis and design. High school students know all about it. You develop a hypothesis. You test the hypothesis, measure the results and then make conclusions.
American engineers don’t rely on common sense to build bridges, cars or spaceships. Americans politicians rely on common sense to mislead voters about what’s best for our country.
Proof v. Theory
In the US, politicians will say anything to convince us to ignore facts. If a group of efficiency experts recommend closing some Air Force bases, then the representatives from the districts where those bases are located will tell everyone that the experts got it all wrong. That’s why voters must be especially vigilant about identifying objective standards which all public officials must follow. Spin has no place in good government.
Leave a Reply