In this week’s episode of “we need a name for this phenomenon” consider the following two circumstances.
These sorts of things are so common that they really do need a name. It’s not really correct to call these Trojan Horses for statism – there’s nothing mysterious about them. So, for fun, enter below your favorite example and I’ll buy dinner (a cheap one of course, I am a greedy capitalist) to the best nomination for a title for this phenomenon.
How about calling it Big Government Snake Oil?
The best way to peddle poison is in a bottle marked RX.
I call it “Qualitative Apathy,” but–at the risk of prompting an angry student organization to come interrupt my classes–you might as well call it U of R decision making at its finest, for this type of logic is lately the only kind to which people listen at Rochester. Oh you like the environment? Buy an unnecessary Eco-Bench. You want to fight pollution? Ban outdoor smoking and water bottles on campus. These are qualitative solutions, things that people might think up in brainstorming sessions. They all SOUND like quality ideas. But when it comes to weighing the benefits and the costs of these “solutions”, it appears that my dear alma mater is too apathetic to think critically before it acts.
(DISCLAIMER: please don’t sue me, I’ve been here for a while and I’d really like to graduate.)
Simple, call it insanity, since the definition is someone who keeps trying the same thing expecting different results.
Ok, ill go first. Post metaphysical stress disorder. For the city planners, post municipal stress disorder, as the planners enact a rule to correct the campfire ordinance. For the IPCC, it’s post multinational stress disorder. I would work harder on this if I thought Rizzo would do more than a White Castle feast.
A vicious circle.
I agree it’s a vicious circle, and I’ve been making this point on healthcare (#2) since learning that Lousie Slaughter was my commencement speaker. I too have been searching for a good word for it.
Mobiustatism?