How Public Policy Became War, a recent book by David Davenport and Gordon Lloyd, documents one of the reasons why political debate has degenerated over the last few decades.
Faced with a problem—any problem—the political instinct is now to declare war.
Presidents of both political parties have declared wars on crime, drugs, poverty, and terrorism. Davenport and Lloyd note:
At first blush, one might think that declaring war on intransigent problems such as poverty or crime would be a good thing. As these domestic policy wars have evolved, however, five conclusions become relatively clear: (1) they do not generally solve the problem at hand; (2) they create roadblocks to better policy solutions; (3) they increase executive power at the expense of Congress; (4) their imagery is often negative and destructive; and (5) they never end. In a larger sense, these domestic policy wars also contribute to the contentious policy and culture wars that have plagued Washington in recent years.
Like many a thought-provoking book, this one answered a seemingly unrelated question I have long been pondering. Bear with me a minute on what will seem like a complete change of topic.
Read the rest at Public Discourse
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