Outrage is fast. It’s legible. It doesn’t require grappling with incentives, enforcement mechanisms, or tradeoffs.
But outrage has a cost:
It replaces diagnosis with blame.
It trains the public to expect villains, not mechanisms.
It produces demands that can’t be implemented.
It gives cover for inaction, because nothing concrete is being asked.
From the perspective of power, it’s almost ideal. Lobbyists show up with clear goals and specific language. The public shows up angry, divided, and incoherent. Guess who wins.Proposing life in prison for people who are doing lawful things is a non-starter.
Eddy_Viscosity2|1 month ago