Beyond Abundance: The Need for Purpose-Driven National Planning

2 days ago7 min read

Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's call for 'competent capacity'—a revitalized American state capable of executing large-scale projects—addresses a critical national weakness. Their diagnosis of bureaucratic inertia and political paralysis is correct.However, their framing of this imperative around the concept of 'abundance' is a strategic misstep that could undermine the very goals they seek to achieve. America's historical successes in planning, from the New Deal's public works to the Apollo program, were not driven by a vague desire for plenty, but by sharply defined national purposes.The Tennessee Valley Authority addressed regional poverty and energy access. The Interstate Highway System served national defense and economic integration.These missions provided the clarity and political will necessary to overcome complexity. Framing today's challenges—from high-speed rail to semiconductor production—through the lens of abundance risks reducing governance to a simplistic debate about production volume.It sidesteps the harder, more essential work of regulatory reform, political consensus-building, and strategic foresight. True competent capacity requires a renaissance in political and administrative judgment, demanding a sober assessment of trade-offs and a clear articulation of national purpose that the seductive but hollow promise of abundance cannot provide.

#editorial picks news

#Ezra Klein

#Derek Thompson

#competent capacity

#project execution

#US policy

#abundance critique

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