Vox's Ezra Klein says the government needs to give us more 'good choices' so that we can move away from this whole 'individualism' thing

Vox’s Ezra Klein sees the problems currently plaguing our society, and he’s zeroing in on the cause: our government.

But before you get ready to pat him on the back, consider his angle:

We all want to be free to make choices. But we need government that works well enough so there are good choices to make. https://t.co/gjlkcdCDWZ

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) September 14, 2020

Klein writes:

But in shifting so much responsibility to individuals, our government has revealed the limits of individualism.

His piece concludes:

Governmental failure has paved the way for social fracture. If the US government had succeeded as Canada or Germany’s governments succeeded, it would be easier to trust each other because we would pose less danger to each other. If we could depend more on the state, we could make more reasonable requests of ourselves. In the wreckage of state failure, though, it is nearly impossible for us to thrive.

This is a lesson the coronavirus is, or should be, teaching us, but it applies to far more than this moment. I began this column with the fires that have burnt my region; fires worsened, year after year, by unchecked climate change. There, too, our failures as a polity have left us adrift as individuals — free to flee our homes, but not free to breathe air that doesn’t leave us choking. It is a thin form of liberty, but it is all we will have left if we cannot govern collectively. We all want to be free to make our own choices. But we need government that works well enough so we have good choices to make.

The government has set us up to fail … so we need more government so we don’t fail?

pic.twitter.com/JRR9bSgKLf

— Ollie's Dad (@ericjreps) September 14, 2020

Does Ezra Klein ever just stop and read what he’s written?

so wrong, government makes one-size-fits-all decisions leaving most with theirs unmet, without agency, and with less money. our government is growing in size and power, it preserves itself and its needs, citizens be damned.

— Jennifer (please scream inside your heart) (@IAlwaysDidntSay) September 14, 2020

While there are some valid points here, I believe this framing is flipped on its head. Gov't has often assumed so many responsibilities that individuals too often look to gov't to continue to handle things rather than take individual responsibility. https://t.co/MJgE1VGOaz

— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) September 14, 2020

Ezra really has this 100% backwards.

For the most part, govt PREVENTS GOOD CHOICES. It does that far more than provides better choices for individuals.

There are exceptions, to be sure. But those are the exceptions rather than the rule. https://t.co/9QdaMdapsr

— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) September 14, 2020

This doesn't mean we shouldn't have public schools. I am a big believer in public schools.

But a system, ANY SYSTEM, where govt is the ONLY option available is set up to fail.

Govt should be the last bastion, not the first.

— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) September 14, 2020

Lets put it another way:

If you really, honestly believe that govt provides a better service or product than the market, you should NEVER have a system in which govt is the only option available.

Let the market choose, and let people choose.

— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) September 14, 2020

So much for being pro-choice…Governments that make choices on our behalf are governments that don't respect individual rights. See 20th century totalitarian/authoritarian/collectivist governments.

Hard pass. #FreeWillBaby #LearnFromHistory https://t.co/WcqQxv6Zxm

— Gabriella Hoffman (@Gabby_Hoffman) September 14, 2020

lol no, most of you fundamentally hate freedom. Even pre covid the level of gvmnt interference in life was monstrously higher than what anyone who even slightly likes freedom would settle at, in every country on earth. The best thing gvmnt can do 99.95% of the times is NOTHING

— Lucio Martelli (@LucioMM1) September 14, 2020

Parting evergreen tweet: